Mating season'
by smokescreens
Summary: Six years on, Zim has grown considerably taller. Irkan mating season every 30 Earth years rolls around and the all-mighty Tallest are impressed enough to send Zim a mate. And one particular human isn't too happy about it....
1. Prologue

Summary: Six years on, Zim has grown considerably taller. Irkan mating season (every 30 Earth years) rolls around and the all-mighty tallest are impressed enough to send Zim a mate. One human, in particular isn't too happy about it....

Rating: M (for later chapters). This story will eventually include graphic heterosexual/homosexual material and bad language. YOU. HAVE. BEEN. WARNED! So don't come a-cryin' to me if this isn't your cup of tea...

Pairings: This is a ZADR, but includes Z+OC Het as part of the set-up storyline.

Disclaimer: I own nothing...NOTHING! Except this sandwich *om nom nom...sandwich!*

**'Mating Season'**

**Prologue: 'Spoof Cola!'**

Ms. Bitters' class was assembled before her as usual. The children were sitting silently and watching the clock eagerly, half-listening to what the teacher was saying. The blackboard had 'Spring Holidays' scrawled across it in Ms. Bitters' spidery handwriting.

"Despite my suggestion to have you all erased to save you the crippling emotional and spiritual pain that comes with adulthood..." Ms. Bitters drawled "the school has allowed you all to continue on to higher education. After this two-week break you will be returning to this class for the last term of education. After that, you will report to 'Middle Skool' by orders of the principle."

The bell rang, Ms. Bitters twitched and spat "That's it. GO HOME!"

The children hurried out all at once, some laughing and shouting. Two students in the front row were that last to leave. The green-skinned figure nearest the door moved first, turning out into the hallway. He was intercepted almost immediately by the other, who appeared before him forcing the boy to stop in his tracks. His black trench coat gave a tiny flap around his hips as he stood his ground.

"Don't think that I'm giving up on you just because we're moving to Middle Skool, Zim!" He said. "I checked, we're still in the same class."

"Pffft!" The green boy replied, rolling his eyes. "Why check, Dib human?" A smirk spread across Zim's face. "You'll be just as useless in Middle Skool as you were in Elementary Skool"

Dib paused, and pulled a face that mirrored his rival's.

"And so shall you, Zim."

-------

The base was almost silent, bathed in it's usual greenish glow. The only sound was the tinny whining of the TV. The little robot watching it jumped as the door was unexpectedly and loudly kicked open.

"Welcome home, son!" The two badly made, sparking droids emerged from the walls to run on a semi-circular rail that led to the door, then retreated back along it into their hiding places.

"STUPID DIRT MONKEY!!!" The Irkan shouted as he slammed the door shut, discarding his wig and eye lenses as quickly as possible. The robot looked on at the television with wide turquoise eyes, seemingly oblivious.

"To think that _he _has the right to oppose me, ME! The almighty ZIM! That...that...." The Irken snarled and spat out his next words as a human would an offensive curse word "That, _lower life __form!!!"_

The lack of response to his ravings made Zim meet with an awkward silence. The robot began to bop his head to himself, singing a little silent tune.

"Gir! Switch that ninnybox off, I'm in no mood!"

"Awwwwwwww", Gir protested. "But it's my favourite shooooooow!"

"It's not even a show, Gir, it's a commercial."

The robot took no notice, and continued to watch. Zim reluctantly sat down next to it and began to watch as well.

On screen, a blonde woman with impossibly white teeth was grinning in a way that Zim found disturbing. "Drink Spoof Colaaaaaaaa!" She breathed, drawing out the last syllable while an impossibly clean beach scene rolled behind her. Zim settled back, becoming bored already. Then a catalogue of children were shown with the words "REAL DRINKERS" blinking below them in bright white subtitles.

The first boy was bouncing around on the spot screaming "I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THIS!!!" He was followed by a second simply standing there. "This. Cola. Has. Changed. My. Life" He said, right eye twitching.

Finally there was a girl chugging a can of 'Spoof Cola', her pupils growing narrower and narrower as she reached the end of the can. Then placing it down gently on a small table she stated, quietly, "I can see through time and space."

Zim sat up suddenly, antennae springing forward. "Interesting... this substance seems to have a... strange effect on the humans." Gir's smile widened, eyes still glued to the screen.

"I want to study this substance further. GIR!" He commanded the robot, who's eyes turned red and immediately saluted.

"Yes, my master"

"Bring me some of this 'Spoof Cola', so I may study it."

"Yessir!" The robot zipped on his green puppy suit and took off.

Gir returned an hour later with a couple of cans of 'Spoof Cola', and a burrito. He unzipped the suit and sat down in front of the TV in one leaping motion, stuffing the sloppy food into his mouth happily. Zim picked up a can of the cola as it rolled across the floor and scrutinized it closely.

"I will take this down to the lab for analysis! Gir, watch the upper floor of the base"

"Oooookay!" the robot chimed, not taking his eyes off the TV.

Below the house, in the eerie pink and purple bowels of the alien's secret base, Zim tapped away at a black and red computer screen. He had decanted a drop of brownish-green 'Spoof Cola' onto a Petri dish underneath a powerful microscope.

"This can't be right" Zim exclaimed. "This is _not _a human food substance! It isn't compatible with human nutritional requirements." Zim's screen gave him a list of ingredients:

Additives

Flavourings

Coke syrup

Taurine

Sugar

Other stimulants

Trace amounts of growth hormones

"Computer!" Zim shouted in exasperation. "Give me all the additional information you have on 'Spoof Cola'."

The larger screen accessible to the Irken lit up and started to display a flickering image of the same blond, toothy female he had seen earlier. She was still grinning but this time she said very, very quickly: "Spoof Cola makes up part of your recommended daily requirement of energy drinks. Not suitable for the elderly, those with heart conditions or nervous disorders. Should not be administered to children under fourteen. May cause side effects when mixed with oxygen."

"Gyaaaa! That's no use!" Zim balled his fists in frustration. Gir had made his way down to the lab some time ago and was bouncing around in the background humming "Do di do do do do di do do doooooooo!"

Zim poured a little more cola onto the dish and prodded at it with a thin glass stick.

"According to my data, humans shouldn't even be able to digest this slop." He said to himself. It wasn't even liquid, really. More of a thin syrup. At least there wasn't any water in it, Zim thought.

"Hmmmmmmm....." he looked at the can of cola, then picked it up and went to drop a small amount on his outstretched tongue.

"Master! You shoudn't outa do that!" Gir warned, in a rare moment of clarity.

"Silence, Gir. As long as we don't mix it with this 'ox-ey-gen' stuff, we'll be fine."

Gir opened his mouth to speak, then produced a rubber pig toy from his head and began squeezing it contentedly. Zim squeezed his eyes shut and poured a drop of cola onto his tongue, letting it dissolve before smacking his lips curiously.

It was....it was....it tasted......DELICIOUS! It wasn't unlike the mass produced flavoured snack drinks found on planet Irk only sweeter, more concentrated.

Irkans, like most of the universe's dominant species, had reached the peak of their evolution in most ways. Irkans had the ability to evolve quickly which, in the past, had given them the upper hand on other species. The only way they could develop further was to become larger or, in their words, taller. The Irkans saw tallness as a sign of strong genes, this was why those who could become taller in their own lifetime were held in the highest regard. The Irkans quick evolution, however, had come at a price. Not only did their height suffer, but also certain sections of their brain. Even the most advanced Irkan mind tended to be cold and logical, only able to focus of the task at hand.

They simply had no interest in anything else and didn't see any problem with that. This was why the concept of psychology, as well as most forms of entertainment, were virtually non existent on Irk. Even the all-mighty tallest only found amusement in beating on their subordinates during probing day. They were known to enjoy puppet shows, pranks and gambling also, but that was mostly out of boredom. And even then they usually finished off their activities by beating one of their subordinates.

Irkans didn't need to eat, but snack foods were widely enjoyed by most of the empire. In addition to having no nutritional value (nutrients may have messed with the delicate Irkan digestive system), they contained stimulants. These tapped into a long forgotten part of the Irkan brain, and the effects were highly enjoyable. Basically, anything that would give a human being a 'high' would work tenfold on an Irkan.

"Master.....what you lookin' at!?"Gir had crept close to his master and stood inches from his face, waving one metallic hand in front of it.

Zim had a completely vacant expression, his ruby eyes staring off into the distance, antennae totally limp, a tiny amount of greenish foam in the corner of his mouth.

The empty can of 'Spoof Cola' rolled across the lab floor.

"I can see through time and space...." he whispered.

"Whut?"

"THIS STUFF IS AMAZING!!!" Zim screamed suddenly, grinning like a Cheshire cat. If he had had pupils, they would have been as tiny as pin-pricks. This sudden outburst sent Gir flying backwards, landing upside down on his head.

"GET ME MORE OF THIS! GIIIIIIR! FIVE CRETES, NO...TWELVE, NO...AS MANY AS THEY HAVE! NOW!" Zim yelled, jerking on his antennae in excitement.

"I don't wanna!" Gir said, petulantly. Zim calmed down momentarily, shooting his defective SIR unit a loaded stare.

"Get it for me, and you may have as many tacos as you can carry." He said.

"WHOOOOOOOOO!!!" That got him moving, the robot steamed off down one of the lab's waste tubes.

-------

Ms. Bitters' class filed back into the classroom reluctantly. The spring break was over, and Ms. Bitters looked as unhappy to be back as the children. "What I did over the holidays" was scribbled on the blackboard behind her in writing that somehow seemed sarcastic.

Dib sat at his desk, fiddling with one of his hand-held paranormal investigation devices. He jerked his head up to look at anyone who entered the room. He was uneasy, truth be told he hadn't got much spying on Zim done over the holidays. The alien had been strangely quiet over the last two weeks, and this unsettled Dib greatly. It always got Dib's attention when he knew the invader was up to something, but it disturbed him even more when it appeared that Zim _wasn't _up to anything.

When Zim entered the room, heads turned. Ms. Bitters lowered her glasses and peered at the green boy. Dib looked up from his device and his jaw fell to the surface of his desk.

Zim stood in the doorway, tall. Very, very tall. He height was now approximately 5ft 7 inches. His old clothes stretched to the limit, barley covering the now massive Irkan.

"What!?"

PROLOGUE:END

A/N: Yay! This was my first (ever) stab at writing fan-fiction. This chapter was really just a 'flex' of my creative writing muscle. I thought I'd start with the characters as they were in the cartoon and give (what I hope is) a humorous explanation for Zim's increased height for the later chapters. I have an entire ZADR story mapped out in my head, and I plan to continue with it unless I get some really cruel reviews ='(

Another warning – this story (if continued) will contain a lot of explanation as to how the Irkan race acts. It's just my own personal take, please bear that in mind when reading.

This is a slow-starting romance story so bear with me, (the smut is coming, I assure you!) So, leave a comment/review if you want. But remember, first try! Also, I'm not Jhonen. If the characters seem 'off' to you then apologies, but it's fan-fiction!


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Perspective**

The highest deck of the Irkan master ship, 'The Massive' was dedicated entirely to an observation bridge for the Almighty-tallest. A raised platform was furnished only by two chairs, the whole deck coloured the uniform pink, red and purple of Irkan technology. Below the platform, behind a few semi-circular control panels, masked Irkan data officers tapped away silently before huge blank monitor screens.

Tallest Red was seated at his chair, legs crossed, tapping his long tendril-like fingers slowly. The thing about space, he thought, was just how much waiting around was involved. Nobody told him about the _waiting_! Destroying worlds, flames, death, dominance, all good! But there was the simple matter of organising it all that he found so tedious. That and actually _getting_ to the wretched planets made operation 'Impending Doom II' ten times longer than it had to be. If only the universe was smaller!

"Space is BIG! Isn't it?!" Tallest Purple had his back to the bridge, staring out of the window.

"I mean it's really, really big! We think it's a long way down to the to the snack storage floor....but that's peanuts compared to SPACE! What do you think, Red?"

Tallest Red looked around, quizzically. "I think those nachos you had for breakfast were off!"

A loud alarm caused them both to jump, Tallest Red fell out of his seat. The shrill 'whooping' alarm sound resonated around the whole bridge. "What on Irk is that?!" He shouted over the din.

The largest screen jumped to life, displaying a counter in red digital symbols.

"Sir, It's the alarm for mating season." One of the data officers informed Red. "It was automatically set by the ship at the start of our voyage."

"Really? Hooray! Mating season again! WHOOO!" Purple flung an arm around Red's neck and squeezed him.

"Isn't that exiting Red? Oooooh! I wish we were still on Irk!"

Red frowned and gave an internal sigh. Not this again! Still...it was _something_ to do. And something was always better than nothing.

-------

Zim sat straddling his elaborate, floating lab chair. Eyes fixed on the computer screen, but not really looking at anything. After a while of gazing he gave up and lay back, relaxing against the soft padding of the chair.

He was so _bored_ these days, he thought. Ever since that damn spring break and that damn cola drink.

Sure, it had caused him to grow taller. The tiny amount of animal growth hormones combined with the stimulants in the drink had a huge effect on Zim's alien DNA. When he realised just how tall he was he had been ecstatic! At the first opportunity he had contacted the All-mighty tallest, so excited he didn't think to change his ripped clothes first.

They had been speechless. Truly speechless. They had just sat there staring, mouths open as Zim, bouncing in his seat, prattled on about his ongoing plans for planet Earth. Signing off, he said very quickly "OkaaysoI'llspeaktoyousoonwhenI'veconqueredEarthBYEEEEE!"

Finally, he had thought, all his plans would bear sweeeeet fruit! The Earth would be his! He was still the Almighty ZIM! But now, with height on his side – and therefore increased brainpower, victory would be imminent!

What Zim hadn't banked on was what came _with _increased brainpower; increased knowledge, increased insight, increased perspective.

It came to him almost in the form of a nightmare. The following night as he lay in bed (Irkans could function perfectly well without sleep, but found it soothing anyway) Zim's brain began to grow, catching up with the rest of his body.

He was plagued with visions and flashbacks. All manner of images attacked his semi-sleeping mind in a truly distressing way that made the Irkan toss and turn, clutching his head.

He saw visions of himself on Irk during 'Impending Doom I', gagging with disgust at the realisation of what he had done to his home planet. He saw himself failing during his training at the academy, and all the flukes that had allowed him to graduate in the first place. He remembered his miserable exile to foodcourtia, under the horrible 'Sizzlor'. He saw the look on the tallests' faces when he had shown up for 'Impending Doom II', the surprise, the disappointment!

Worst of all he realised why he was here on Earth. How had he not seen it until now?! This planet was...was...completely_ useless!!! _Not to mention how far away it was from Irk, or any other planet that mattered! Of course the Irkan empire would want nothing to do with it! Earthlings hadn't even developed inter-stellar travel yet! He had been so blind!

The crushing reality hit home as despair tore at Zim's innards.

Finally, he saw embarrassing visions of his attempts to take over Earth. Oh, the shame! What had he been thinking?! Why!? A giant Hamster?!! What had possibly convinced him _that_ was a good idea?!!!

By the time Zim awoke the next day, he was a changed alien. Not quite depressed, but disturbed and fazed. He was also incredibly thankful that the god-awful 'Spoof Cola' had been discontinued by the time he had sent Gir out for more. When he marched down to the store to demand why, the spotty adolescent clerk had muttered something about babies being born with extra limbs.

He immediately put all of his plans on hold but continued to go to Skool out of habit. He didn't bother updating his disguise, it was too late for that. The base's computer replicated a larger uniform for him from the shreds of his old one, and his increased height was easily explained to anyone who would ask as a 'growth spurt'.

He had no intention of contacting the Tallests. They had exiled him after all, and Zim had to respect the orders of his leaders.

Not really sure what to do with himself, Zim stuck to his established routine of going to skool, coming home, researching Earth culture and sleeping. It was the only thing that kept him from sinking into full despair. Irkans were logical creatures at heart, so as long as he had 'orders' to follow he had a purpose. And that, at least, brought him _some_ contentment.

Eventually, after eight Earth months, the Tallests contacted Zim. They half-guessed what was going on after his long period of silence and called him out of a combination of curiosity, boredom and pity. That, and even they were duty-bound to sincerely congratulate him on his increased height.

From there blossomed an odd relationship between Zim and the All-mighty Tallest. Not a word was spoken about Zim's exile, but both parties knew the unspoken truth.

The Tallests would call Zim every so often and update him on the Irkans' progress on the conquering of the universe. Zim would listen, happy for the knowledge his leaders allowed him to have.

The Tallests, in turn, started to warm to Zim in a curious way. It wasn't that they _liked_ him (well, maybe a little), he just ceased to be any kind of threat. Especially since he was still nowhere near as tall as themselves (the Tallests stood at well over 6ft).

The Tallests would never admit it, but something akin to a 'professional friendship' had grown between them and Zim.

And here he was, six years later. Nothing had changed.

He _had _been feeling strange over this last week, though.

In addition to the usual boredom Zim had been restless and irritable. He had been unable to sleep, but unable to concentrate on work either. At first he had worried that his exile to this dirt-farm planet might be getting to him. But now he wasn't so sure. It didn't feel as complicated as that, it was more like an..._urge. _Like he needed to do something, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

Something he couldn't quite put his finger on, something....primal.

A little, beeping alarm sounded from Zim's computer, snapping him away from his thoughts. Red Irkan symbols appeared across the screen.

"Oh well...time for Skool!" Zim said to himself, climbing down from his chair.

-------

A large, desolate building made entirely from concrete stood by itself among grounds of dying greenery. 'Hi Skool' the plain notice read on the building's street-facing side.

Dib was the first to arrive for class, a habit he had retained since Elementary Skool. Dib had stayed fundamentally the same since then. His attire hadn't altered much; the same black boots and trousers, a blue shirt and a hip-length black trench coat. His hair had changed a little, his characteristic black scythe had grown and developed a single kink in it. Undoubtedly more kinks would follow as he got older, just like his father.

Dib watched as his classmates filed into the room. The last addition he noticed was Zim, who took up a seat across from Dib in the back row.

Dib's curiosity for Zim hadn't diminished during the past six years. But, even he had to admit, there had been changes in the alien's activities. It had happened after his unexpected growth spurt before Middle Skool.

For one, the alien seemed much more sullen, serious almost. This, Dib didn't know what to make of. He had never thought Zim capable of quiet contemplation. Zim just didn't seem like _Zim_ without his madcap, misguided enthusiasm and arrogance.

Dib had convinced himself that this was just part of another elaborate plan for world conquest, that he was being so quiet because he had a massive ace up his sleeve. So he had continued to follow Zim's activities and tried constantly to get the alien to reveal his secret.

It was easier to do that than admit to himself that there was a possibility that, maybe, the alien could have actually changed. Than considering that he may have to live without their established 'cat and mouse' relationship. At first, that possibility hadn't occurred to Dib at all.

He didn't really have anything else. No friends, not much family, nothing. His pursuit of Zim had engulfed his life so much that he had no other interests any more.

However, it had become increasingly hard for Dib to believe that Zim was up to something after he realised just how _aimless _his extra-terrestrial classmate had become. Now, after six years, it had started to dawn on Dib that he had been deluding himself all this time.

In fact, Zim seemed to have completely given up on his conquest of the earth. His latest attempt, two years ago, was clearly half-hearted (a ridiculous plan involving sporks, which quickly foiled itself). Even spying on him wasn't worth the time.

Still, when Dib's height had finally surpassed Zim's about a year ago, Dib's first thought was to rub it in the alien's face. He knew how important height was to Zim's race. But when Dib pointed it out, Zim had merely given a small shrug, and walked away.

Dib had become uneasy due to the invader's new attitude. He didn't understand it, even after all these years, but he didn't trust it either. Not by a long shot.

Now, as Zim sat across from him, just like old Elementary Skool times, Dib couldn't help but observe him.

"Now, we're going to learn about the interesting creatures that exist in the deepest sea..." The teacher said, pointing to a diagram of a neon fish on a projection screen. "Some are really extraordinary, due to the massive pressure near the centre of the Earth..."

The bizarrely formed fish would usually have peaked Dib's interest. But he was preoccupied with watching Zim, who had begun rubbing the palms of his hands together in an very odd way.

More noticeably, Zim had a distant, concentrated expression. Like he was focusing on something far away, his interest captivated by something imaginary. A small, private smile broke out on Zim's face.

Dib was intrigued, he had never seen the alien do this before. In all the years he had been watching Zim, he had never seen him daydream. Zim seemed unaware of his actions, eyes fixed ahead, rubbing his hands absent-mindedly. He was totally immersed in his own little world.

Dib continued to watch. This was the first time in a while that he'd seen Zim do anything out of character. And he _knew _Zim's character.

Zim's expression twitched, ever so slightly. He started rubbing his hands more intensely, lacing his fingers together. It was a change in motion that you wouldn't have noticed unless you were looking for it. Dib was looking.

Dib was suddenly overcome with an urge to interfere with the alien's activity.

Why? He had no idea! Habit, perhaps. After all he wasn't _doing_ anything in particular. Just sitting there rubbing his hands together. Still, he balled up a piece of paper on his desk and launched it at Zim.

"Ow!" Zim said, the paper ball striking his head, forcing him out of his stupor.

"Hm, hmmmmm!" The teacher made a fake throat-clearing noise to get the students' attention. "I would think you boys would be too old for that behaviour by now!" She scolded.

Dib looked calm, if a little flustered. Zim looked downright embarrassed.

"Detention for both of you!"

CHAPTER 1: END

A/N: This is where the 'fiction' part really gets going, I thought I'd publish this as well as the prologue to give an idea of where the story's actually going. Hope you enjoy...


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Wow! I want to say thank you to everybody who read my first two chapters and left some really nice reviews. I came up with the idea for this story waaaaaaaaay back when I saw the show on TV (I was just a little human worm baby with a smutty mind), but I didn't try actually writing it until now. I really only did it for my own amusement, so I'm glad that other people liked it, even though my punctuation and spacing need some work -_-

Now that's out of the way, I want to say sorry for two things. Firstly, I've been spelling it 'Irkan' when it should be 'Irken'. My bad...won't happen again!

Secondly, it's been AGES since I updated...*Warning – If you don't care why, just skip this next bit*...but I had to move to a place with no internet connection. I continued to write the story though, and even followed it through to a conclusion. When I finally DID get an internet connection, a well-meaning friend updated my OS without telling me, which wiped out all the other chapters of this fanfiction. Curse him and his stinky kindness!

Aaaaaanyway, I'm re-writing them now and I hope you enjoy this instalment...

**Chapter 2: Aggression **

The time was 4.10 pm, the classroom that had been full an hour ago was now empty except for the two students in the back row and the teacher sat at the front desk. The voices of students echoed through the hallways as they spilled outside into the lazy afternoon sunshine.

Dib stared ahead, frowning and cursing himself. Way to go Dib, he thought, now you're stuck here for another hour! Why? Because you threw a paper ball at Zim's head! Real mature! What was that even meant to accomplish?

It wasn't as if he minded being there particularly, even though it was boring. 'Mysterious Mysteries' wasn't on until later, and Gaz had probably taken over the TV by playing 'Doggy death 4' on the Gameslave 3000 anyway. He was more concerned with why he had done it in the first place. It wasn't like Elementary skool (when he would have considered hitting Zim in the head with something well worth an hour of detention), so what was the point?

Dib held his chin in his hands and sulked, glaring at the far wall and the teacher's desk. This teacher was different from the one that had given him detention. She was younger and thinner, with dark blue hair and a nose ring, she also looked like she'd rather be anywhere else right now. She flicked through a magazine absent-mindedly and sighed occasionally. When she noticed Dib's gaze she shot him an annoyed look, forcing him to stare down at his desk instead.

Well, at least this meant Dib could observe Zim's behaviour some more. He hadn't completely given up on watching the alien. Sure, he wasn't trying to take over Earth any more (at least he didn't think he was), but what else was he supposed to do? He couldn't just ignore the fact that an actual, real-life alien was sat in the same room as him almost every day.

But...if he wasn't harming anyone, was it still right to try and hand him over to the authorities, and an inevitable, painful death? His younger self would have said so, because mankind still needed to know what the alien's body could show them about extra-terrestrial life. Back then, Dib would pursue his goal with child-like enthusiasm, thinking nothing of destroying the object of his attention in an attempt to capture or understand it.

Now that he was older, the started to question his methods, especially when it came to Zim. What was more important; killing him or keeping him alive so that he could learn more about him? Claiming victory over him in name of humans everywhere, or proving true superiority by leaving him to stagnate alone? Should he still concentrate his efforts on something that clearly wasn't a threat any more? It was in a moral grey area to say the least.

This confusion led Dib to back off from Zim a little, though he couldn't completely let go of his old habits. Some days, Zim acted so passive and unremarkable that Dib barely noticed him at all, but whenever he did something weird, Dib's interest would spark again.

Convinced that Zim was making another bid for world domination, he would feel that old, familiar zeal that he had been so full of as a child. He would slip into his old role, trying to gather as much information as possible so that he could stop Zim, or expose him once and for all and finally prove the existence of aliens!

Come to think of it, that was probably why he'd had the impulse to throw something at Zim earlier. No matter how docile he appeared, it still bothered Dib that he was there in the first place, being all...all..._alieny _on his planet!

Dib narrowed his eyes and peered at Zim from across the room, fully expecting his childhood rival to stare daggers right back at him. Zim noticed him but didn't return his gaze. Instead he just sat there, looking ahead into nothingness.

What was it about that look in his eyes that made Dib so suspicious? Maybe it was because it was so vacant, like part of his brain had shut off or something.

Dib dropped his steely expression and blinked. No, wait, it was more than just that. Zim looked drained, like he was sick. Dib looked harder, noticing Zim's sagging shoulders, the pained look on his face, like he was sitting on something sharp, and his heavily lidded eyes. Even his skin didn't look right. If it was possible for a green person to look pale then he was definitely achieving it!

After a few minutes Zim let his hands drop weakly from the desk to his sides, knocking a couple of pens to the floor as he did so. The teacher coughed and turned a page of her magazine.

Dib thought for a moment, then grabbed a pencil and started writing a list:

- Alien virus?

- Exposure to toxic substance?

- Bio-mechanical device draining energy?

- Allergic to...something?

- Bad burrito?

Dib stole another glance at Zim, hoping to get more ideas as to what was wrong with him. This time he stared back.

Zim could feel himself being watched, and knew there could be only one person doing it. He lifted his weary head to look at Dib, feeling himself grow weaker from this tiny amount of effort. Sure enough, the human was staring at him from across the room.

Zim groaned quietly, lacking the strength to do anything else. Gah! Why did the Dib-human always stare at him so? Probing him with his eyes...it made him feel uncomfortable.

Heh...Dib. Even though he had caused him countless troubles in the past he was still the most amusing thing on this planet. A slightly evolved human, with the brainpower to grasp things far beyond their 'normal' understanding, tied down and trapped into a spiral of inevitable insanity by the stupidity of the rest of his race; shunned instead of honoured, silenced instead of becoming a source of inspiration. He was a living metaphor for why this puny race was doomed to extinction, with or without Irken intervention. Zim couldn't help but appreciate the simple beauty of it.

Still, he had noticed a change in the Dib's behaviour these last few years. His attempts to uncover Zim's identity and have him dissected had become less and less frequent, not that he was complaining!

Just after Zim's growth spurt, Dib had been so persistent that he had even considered telling the boy why he was really on Earth, just to get him to leave him alone. But, he didn't think it would do any good, Dib would never believe him anyway. Plus, he'd still rather not share any information with him, it wasn't as if he actually _liked_ the little pest!

Recently, though, Dib had backed off considerably. Not only that, but Zim had noticed a difference in the way he looked at him. He used to glare at him through his glasses with a cold hatred that the Irken soldier found almost respectable (even though Zim would rather die than admit it).

But now he sensed a kind of quiet curiosity in Dib's human eyes, like he was trying to grasp something complex and Zim was a part of it somehow. It gave him the creeps!

Zim had noted that there was a correlation between these changes and Dib's increase in height. Dib had been more focused and determined as a child, but it appeared that he had slowly lost interest as he had grown larger. Perhaps increased stature had an opposite effect on humans, and the Dib's brain was rotting from the inside? Hopefully he'd be as stupid as the rest of them soon.

Zim shifted in his seat, unable to get comfortable. Whichever way he sat, he felt like something was pressing against his insides. It felt like he had eaten too much, except this was far worse.

Not only that, but he felt so _weak! _It was like he was being drained of his very life force. But, at the same time he felt strangely empowered. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had the strength to rip through metal, to crush bones, to _fly_, even though his body was weighing him down. The two conflicting sensations brewed within him and clashed in a way that Zim could feel vibrating through his very innards, screaming in his brain. What _was_ this?

Zim balled one of his hands into a fist in frustration, fighting against his own weakness.

**Squelch!**

Zim felt the sudden warm sensation in the centre of his palm, thick liquid seeped through his gloves and onto his fingers. He sat perfectly still for a few seconds, the building blocks of understanding falling into place inside his mind. His eyes grew wide and his mouth went dry.

It couldn't be...could it? Already? He did some quick mental calculations. Crap! This was not good! Definitely not good!

Zim kept his fist clenched at his side, his panic increasing. How was he leaking goo already? He must have rubbed a few layers of skin off without realising...it didn't matter now, all that mattered was that he needed to get back to his base and contain himself while he figured out how to handle the situation.

He shot a glance sideways, half-knowing what he would see. Sure enough, Dib was watching him like a hawk, excitedly scribbling things down and grinning. Zim cursed silently, knowing that he had to get far away from Dib as quickly as possible. Why did he feel like that wasn't going to be easy?

Dib felt the excitement growing within him as he kept adding things to his list, looking up intently at Zim. The alien sat bolt upright, his fists clenched tight and pressed against his lap. His hands...

Dib was sure that Zim's hands had something to do with his strange behaviour. It looked like he was clutching something in them and he didn't want anyone else to know about it. Dib wrote this down under his list.

Zim really looked like he was shitting himself now! He held his arms and legs rigid, his brow furrowed nervously, flinching slightly. Tiny beads of sweat formed on his forehead and ran down his pale green face. He looked like he was going to make a run for it at any moment.

Dib laid his pencil down, focusing all his attention on Zim. He hadn't seen him do anything this strange in years. He felt the familiar stab of exited wonder, the pull of curiosity, the pure, basic desire to _understand_! He'd forgotten how happy it could make him feel.

No doubt about it, there was something going on with Zim, and Dib knew he wouldn't be satisfied until he knew what it was. He felt a new wave of energy pass through him, determination and motivation he hadn't felt for so long. Morals be damned! Zim was up to something and he wouldn't rest until he got to the bottom of it!

Zim saw that he was looking at him again. Dib's hard gaze met with Zim's vulnerable look. Dib smiled at Zim wickedly, Zim gave a tiny worried gulp.

The clock ticked away quietly, moving the minute hand to twelve. The shrill ringing of the bell echoed throughout the school. Dib didn't even flinch.

Without saying a word, the apathetic teacher gathered her things and left the room, leaving the two boys alone. Zim moved first, shifting himself out of his desk and trying to make a break for the door, ignoring his body's screams of protest. But Dib was faster and blocked his path.

"What's wrong Zim, are you sick?" he asked, noticing that the alien fell back a little, like he was trying to put some distance between them.

"Nonsense, Dib-monkey, I've never felt better!" Zim replied, trying to keep the desperate tone out of his voice, wobbling slightly on his feet.

"Who are you trying to fool?" Dib insisted, a crooked smile creeping across his face. "You look like you're about to keel over!"

Zim huffed at this, his worried frown changing to a look of annoyance. Was it Dib's imagination, or could he smell something? The scent was slight, but it was definitely there. It was vaguely sweet, but heady, like soured apples, or fruity air freshener.

"_And you smell funny!"_ Dib added, making a mental note of how lame it sounded.

Surprisingly, this got a reaction from Zim. For a split second he looked shocked and almost embarrassed, but he quickly pulled himself together.

"Foolishness! Your tiny human mind is playing tricks on you!" he said. Dib ignored him.

"Is it some kind of weird alien disease? Or have you been slowly poisoned by Earth's atmosphere?"

"No, it's-"

"No...if the atmosphere was toxic it would have killed you off years ago." Dib reasoned, momentarily lost in his own musings. "Maybe it's a parasite!"

Grrrrr! Zim could feel his patience (something he never had very much of) rapidly dwindling. What little energy he had was focused on the need to get back to the safety of his base, not having to deal with this interference. It felt like his mind had slowed down as well as his body, unable to even keep up with the Dib's ramblings. He felt frustrated and confused anger bubbling within him.

"IT'S NOTHING! NOTHING, YOU HEAR?" Zim shouted, regaining a little of his composure. Dib was shocked into silence.

"Even if it was something...WHICH IT ISN'T!" he shouted again, stepping forward and prodding Dib's chest with one finger "it isn't anything a mere child like you would understand!"

Dib felt a sudden pang of annoyance, he swatted Zim's hand away.

"You're so _stupid _Zim! You don't know anything!" Dib drew himself up to his full height, standing defiantly. "Do I look like a child to you, huh? Look at me!"

Zim leaned back slightly, taking in Dib's appearance. He'd always known that he was there, but Zim hadn't really paid Dib that much attention over the last six years. He didn't really have any reason to. Now that he thought about it, even before his growth spurt Dib was usually the one to talk to him, to ambush him, to try and get inside his head. This was the first time he had actually looked at the human properly, noticing all the little details that weren't obvious at a glance.

Hmmmm...he was right, the Dib was no child any more!

He'd been taller for a while, but for the first time Zim noticed his slim but muscular build, the broadness of his shoulders, the way he tilted his head cockily, the self assured look in his eyes. The Dib that had childishly riled against him six years ago had been replaced with the Dib that stood confidently before him now, proudly carrying the authority that his height commanded.

Zim could have sworn that Dib smelled different as well. No, it wasn't really a smell, more of a scent that attracted his attention. It was so slight that he couldn't be sure he wasn't imagining it.

Zim had read somewhere, years ago, that some races gave off tiny traces of their body chemicals which could be sensed by those around them. Was that what this was, did humans do that? Zim's mind didn't fully understand, but his body did.

Zim felt something contract inside him. Strength flowed back into his tired limbs as sparks of energy fired through him. He could feel his mind and body being gripped by an instinctive force, shutting out part of his brain and giving control over to his senses.

Zim knew this feeling only too well. Panic stabbed through his guts as he wished furiously that this wasn't happening to him. While he still had some control he tried to fight it, willing his body with all his might to be calm, or to run while he still had the chance.

It was no use, Zim's senses heightened even more, and he became painfully aware of the human stood before him. He could practically hear the pumping of his organs, the sound of his blood as it rushed through his system. He could almost feel the heat coming off him, everything about him giving off stimuli that seemed to scream at Zim from every angle.

Dib ceased to be Dib in his mind, he was now just a thing that stood against him, a vessel of blood and muscle. The final shreds of control melted away as Zim centred himself.

"Dib...it appears you have grown into a man while I wasn't looking." He said quietly, smiling darkly.

"Right! Wait...what?" Dib cocked his head to one side in confusion.

"Very well." Zim sank downwards into a fighting stance, drawing one arm behind him. "If you will not back down from me then I will _cut _you down! If you survive this day you will forever remember the name of _ZIM!_"

Dib shrank back a little. This was getting weird! Zim had threatened him a million times before, but this felt different. There was a dark chill in Zim's eerily calm voice that he had never heard before. Dib felt a tiny lump in his throat when we opened his mouth to speak.

"But I already know your-"

"_SILENCE!" _Zim yelled, unclenching his fists into arched claws. Dib flinched involuntarily.

"_You dare engage an Irken elite in combat? So bet it...fight me like a warrior!" _Zim hissed, his evil, manic grin widening.

Dib stepped back, genuinely frightened. Fear shot down his spine as his reflexes told him to run, but instead froze him to the spot. A primal instinct somewhere in the back of his mind warned him that he was in real danger, like he had provoked a deadly animal.

"Wha-what are you talking abou-" He stuttered.

"_YOUR WORDS COST YOU THE FIRST STRIKE!" _

In a motion as quick as lightning, Zim thrust his back leg forward, instantly closing the gap between them. He snapped his leg straight and planted an expert kick to Dib's solar plexus, hitting him with such force that he knocked the human off his feet. Dib was flung backwards, landing on a desk and breaking it in two with a loud, splintering 'CRACK'!

"AAAAAHHW...FUCK!" Intense pain tore through Dib's lower back. Before he could move, Zim was on him again.

Dib felt strong hands grab him roughly by the shoulders, dragging him upwards. Zim kneed him sharply in the chest, again, and again, and again until Dib coughed and retched, his throat gargling with trapped screams of pain.

Dib tried in vain to throw Zim off him, gripping the arms that held him in the path of this onslaught of blows. It was no use, Dib might as well have been trying to push against an anvil! Zim's arms were as tough and solid as steel, his pointed fingers cutting into Dib's shoulders, breaking through the skin.

Dib shrieked as Zim brought his knee up and hit him in the face. Too shocked to feel any pain at first, his vision blurred as hot tears flowed from the corners of his eyes. He felt a tiny snap and heard one of the lenses of his glasses shatter.

Dib's ears started ringing as he experienced an almighty head rush. A new pain gripped his face as the vessels in his nose burst, causing hot, sticky blood to cascade down his front and onto his shirt.

Zim kicked him hard again, this time throwing him so that he skidded across the floor, slamming head first into the far wall.

_'Cough. Cough...Gyak!'_

Dib spluttered through the tears and blood, struggling to open his eyes and blink through the pain. He heard a sharp 'CRACK' at the side of his head, and then another on his opposite side, just below his hip. He strained his watery eyes to see what was going on.

Zim loomed over him, the spidery mechanical legs extending from his PAK, lifting him up from the ground slightly. Two of them were embedded into the wall at Dib's sides, effectively pinning him in place. A few sparks ran down the metal; Dib could feel their heat burning his skin.

Without warning Zim snapped his arm forwards and clamped a hand around his battered opponent's throat, squeezing his neck mercilessly.

"_GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" _

Zim burst into manic laughter as Dib writhed and twitched beneath him, desperately clawing at Zim's hold on his neck, letting out pitiful strangled screams.

Zim's world had gone red. Blind and deaf to everything but the purest, basic sensations running through him, he basked in the simple pleasure of his victim's struggle. Ecstasy pulsed through his brain, becoming one with the pulse he felt coming from the human's throat; beating in unison, in glorious rhythm. The smell of Dib's blood washed over him, the metallic aroma causing him to lick his teeth hungrily. He could feel Dib's heart beating rapidly, the sound of it thundering in his ears; it was all he could hear.

_Tear it out...tear it out with your bare hands...rip it apart! Kill the rival! Destroy him! _

Zim released Dib from his grip, causing the human to fall to the ground in a heap. Zim raised himself higher on his metallic legs. Blue electricity sparked from them, darkening the room behind him.

"_NOW YOU DIIIIIIIIE!" _

He laughed manically again, the electricity charging, surrounding him like lightning.

Dib, battered, blood-splattered and bruised, cowered like a cornered mouse. Pure fear washed over him like a wave, frightened sweat pouring from him as if he were boiling hot.

"J-JESUS POLE-VAULTING CHRIST, ZIM! WHAT ARE YOU ON?"

He screamed, without any thought, panicking desperately in the face of his own imminent death.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Zim's shrill laugh of victory cut through the air, through the crackling of the charging electricity. Suddenly, the laughter broke off and stopped.

Through the buzzing of adrenaline he could smell the bitter scent of Dib's fear, overwhelmingly strong, radiating from him in invisible waves. Reality crashed around him with the force of a falling building, his normal senses returning with shattering speed.

He saw the pathetic, battered creature cowering beneath him, shivering with fear, covering his face with his hands. Zim retracted his robot legs and stood back on his own feet, suddenly feeling horrendously out of place.

"I...heh, erm..." He trailed off, awkwardly. Dib lowered his arms to look at him, still cowering in fear.

"LOOK...A DISTRACTION!" Zim shouted suddenly, pointing in a random spot. Through sheer surprise, Dib looked in the same direction.

Taking advantage of his opportunity, Zim delivered a swift but powerful kick to Dib's groin.

Dib gave a muted scream as pain, easily more intense than any other Zim had caused him, ripped through him. His stomach and bowels contracted, making him feel like he was going to vomit and shit himself at the same time. As his vision went blurry again, he doubled over, clutching his area with both hands.

After what seemed like forever, coughing and retching like he had chronic lung disease, Dib opened his eyes to see that Zim was gone.

Slowly, painfully, he rose to his unsteady feet and hobbled over to the window, hoping that fresh air would help the agony. He leaned against the open window, gripping the handle for support. Extending his head into the soft breeze, he sucked in the sweet, warm air. He coughed sharply, blinking against the pale yellow light, spraying tiny flecks of blood and spit against the glass.

Though he could only see through his one remaining glasses lens, he spotted Zim, running at full speed from the skool gates into the street.

"THAT WAS A CHEAP SHOT, ZIM!" He called after him, humiliation ringing through his voice. "THIS ISN'T OVER...I'LL GET YOU EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!"

CHAPTER 2: END


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Communication**

Zim burst through the sliding doors of the silver elevator column, barely waiting until they were fully open. His shoulder clanged loudly against one of them, causing him to lose his footing and stumble to the ground, skidding and rolling across the floor. When he stopped, he slumped into a sitting position, panting heavily from the exertion of running so far.

He stayed there for a few moments, gasping for air, before flopping onto his back, arms and legs outstretched, staring into the blackness above him.

He didn't move for nearly 10 minutes, feeling his breathing gradually slowing down to normal, his arms and legs growing heavy as they relaxed. He felt relief wash over him as he allowed himself to be calmed by the murky gloom of his underground base, the cold metal floor pressed against his unusually warm skin. The familiar ticking and whirring of the machinery was strangely soothing, like the distant chirping of insects in the night.

Finally, when he felt he had enough strength, Zim reached up to his face to peel off his eye lenses and remove his wig. He pulled himself up, groggily, and looked around. Where was he, exactly? He had been so desperate to get inside that he hadn't given it much thought, letting the elevator act on it's own.

He shrugged and walked over to the nearest chair, sitting down into it heavily. Thankfully, Gir was nowhere to be seen. He was probably out rifling through the dumpster at 'Taco King' again.

Once he was sure he was alone, Zim slipped off one of his long black gloves and studied his hand closely. A hair thin slit, almost invisible to the naked eye, ran diagonally from the base of his fingers to the heel of his palm. It appeared the thin layer of skin covering it had, indeed, broken.

Zim stared at it for a few moments, curiously. Hmmmmm...just how full of goo was he? It must be pretty severe if it was leaking out of his hands, but...he wondered.

He hesitated, glancing furtively behind him to make sure there was nobody there, before very lightly prodding the base of his palm with one finger. Zim flinched with surprise as a thin stream of bright green goo shot into the air, arching and landing a few feet away with a tiny 'splat'.

He could only stare, not knowing whether to feel impressed or ashamed, at the little green puddle as it congealed on the floor. The cogs in his head were turning slowly, piecing it all together. He sat back, becoming lost in his own thoughts.

This explained everything. This would be his first mating season as a 'taller'; the male goo that had been building up within him over the last thirty Earth years had finally reached critical mass. He'd felt this before, but never on such a large scale. There was simply more _of _him to fill, he had produced more goo now than he ever had before in his life.

Zim slipped his glove back on, musing to himself. Even for Irkens, who live considerably longer than humans, thirty years was a long time. Long enough for him to forget just how much being full of goo could affect him. It explained the weakness he felt in class, the aggression...

Zim felt an odd twinge in the back of his mind as he recalled his fight with Dib. He realised that he had attacked the human without mercy, as if he had been an opponent on the battlefield. Through the fresh clarity of hindsight, he remembered the ferocity of his blows, the sheer anger he had felt towards Dib, his screams of pain.

He paused, then gave a little internal shrug. Well, what did he expect? Zim was a highly trained member of the military, after all, and it wasn't uncommon for Irken males to maim or even kill each other during mating season.

Not that the Dib knew any of this, of course. No, he was just poking his nose where it wasn't wanted, as usual: meddling in matters he knew little to nothing about. He _had_ tried to get away from the human, Zim reasoned to himself, but that ignorant monkey wouldn't let him!

He had stood in his path, practically announcing that he was a rival force to be acknowledged, tempting Zim's wrath without expecting or understanding it.

Zim checked himself, what was this odd feeling? Guilt? Did he actually feel _sorry _for the Dib-beast? He shrugged his head violently at the very thought. No...it couldn't be! It just couldn't!

It made him feel sick and slightly violated that Dib had even smelled his goo. Zim shuddered a little at the sudden thought of Dib actually touching any of it...touching _him_.

He forced the disgusting thought from his mind before it could develop any further.

One thing was for sure, he didn't want that human coming anywhere near this subject with a twenty foot pole! By now, he was used to Dib poking around in his affairs, but this time it was different. This matter was easily more personal than anything else Zim had had to deal with while on Earth. He had never been prone to feel shame or embarrassment, but if there was one subject he wanted to keep private, it was this one!

There was only one thing for it: he would have to drain himself of his goo as quickly as possible, before it caused him any more trouble. Zim's heart sank as he realised something. He knew that high-ranking Irkens and officers away on missions (or otherwise separated from the home planet) used special equipment to extract their goo, so that it could be sent to the DNA bank or disposed of safely. He also knew that he had no such equipment in his possession.

This meant that he would have to rid himself of his goo..._naturally._

Zim sat back further in his seat. For the first time in years, he felt despair pulling at his insides. He gave a little, self-pitying sniff as depression set in.

Mostly, he had come to terms with the fact that he was in exile. He had resigned himself to spending the rest of his life on this dull little planet, co-habiting with creatures too stupid to comprehend the vastness of the universe around them. But, every now and again he was reminded of his Irken heritage, and suddenly it pained him to be so far away from his home planet. At times like these he would feel great sadness, mixed with frustration and touches of self-loathing. Did this shit-storm ever end? Did the indignities of his banishment never cease?

"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYA MASTER!"

"GYAAAAA!"

Zim screamed and fell off his chair as Gir's voice tore him from his thoughts. The robot giggled, dangling from the ceiling on a vine of loose wires. Zim pulled himself up, his antennae twitching with anger.

"Gir! Get down from there, before you break something!" He shouted. Gir dropped to the floor and stared at Zim vacantly, a tiny smile on his face.

"Where have you been, Gir?" He demanded, annoyed but still in shock from the interruption.

"I've been playing runaround in the storage room!"

Zim blinked in exasperation, knowing that he could have been talking about any of the storage decks on the lower levels of the base. At least he wasn't messing around where he could have done some real damage, like the computer's mainframe.

"I found a shiny!" Gir said, happily, producing a small glass orb from the top of his head. A thin glass cylinder ran through it's middle, upon which a much smaller glass sphere contained a tiny amount of pink liquid. Small alien characters were printed in black on it's side.

Zim snapped his attention to Gir, eyes growing wide.

"GIR! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?" He yelled, grabbing the orb from the robot and holding it carefully in both hands, clutching it close to his chest.

"I dunno!" Gir grinned widely.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked, not bothering to pause for the answer. "It's an advanced weapon engineered on Cylis 14, the floating brain planet!"

"Whooooooo!" Gir cooed, curiously. Zim carried on explaining.

"These orbs serve various purposes, some of them give out powerful electrical waves, others explode on impact, there are even ones that attack your mind and make you think you're a chicken!"

"Neat!" Gir cocked his head to one side. "So what does that one do?"

Zim looked down at the glass orb, then at Gir, silently. He didn't say a word for a few moments, his expression a mix of defiance and dark fear.

"I don't know." He admitted, quietly. "We colonised Cylis 14 decades ago, those stupid floating brains didn't bother recording their own language! We'll never know what this says!" Zim pointed to the black letters on the orb's side, cupping it gently with his other hand.

"There's no telling what could happen if this were to break." He continued, walking over to a nearby work bench and carefully placing the orb in a larger glass container. Once he had sealed it inside he looked back over his shoulder at Gir, who was still stood there, gazing happily into oblivion.

"Do you understand, Gir?" He asked, without much hope. For a few more seconds they stood in silence.

"I'm gonna bounce on my head!" Gir stated, before flipping himself over and bouncing repeatedly upside-down.

Zim looked at his robot companion warily as he walked back over to his seat, Gir continued to bounce on his head for several minutes after Zim had sat back down.

"Remind me again why I didn't shut you down six years ago." He said, dryly.

Suddenly, the quiet was broken when a shrill, whooping alarm rang through the base. The entire room was bathed in blinking red light as every screen flashed up the words 'Incoming Transmission' in Irken letters.

"GYAAAA!" Zim screamed and fell off his chair again.

SSSSS

The Membrane house was as quiet as usual. Gaz sat in front of the wide screen TV, absent-mindedly drumming her long black fingernails on the arm of the sofa. The pale glow of the TV screen shone in the dwindling light of the early evening, reflecting against the teenager's face.

Gaz had grown into an attractive young woman, her flawless pale skin offset against her tight black clothing. Her purple hair had grown a little, and fell around her narrow shoulders gracefully. Her prettiness was only marred by the constant look of leaden disapproval on her face.

She heard the door slam, but didn't move an inch, her expression showing only a flicker of recognition. After what seemed like a long time (way too long for a person to enter the house and go upstairs), she turned her attention sideways.

She saw her brother leaning heavily against the wall, seemingly frozen in the act of trying to mount the stairs. His clothes were dirty, torn and bloody, and Gaz noticed that his glasses were askew and probably broken. He hung his head low, exposing what looked like purple bruises on the back of his neck. His knees seemed to be weak, and his arms hung limp and useless at his sides.

"What the Hell happened to you?" Gaz asked, raising a single eyebrow. Without turning around, Dib responded in a weak and beaten voice.

"Zim...cough, gyak...gone _crazy_...super strong...hyuk, cough...smells like...air freshener..."

With that, Dib finally collapsed, falling face down onto the stairs. Gaz stared at him for a few moments, mildly curious whether her brother was conscious or not. When he didn't move she turned her head back to the flickering TV screen.

"Pfffft! That's not interesting."

SSSSS

"Close screen!" Tallest Red commanded. The large screen before him, which had been displaying Zim's bewildered, wide-eyed face, flicked off into blackness.

The two Tallests were, unusually, alone on the upper observation deck. Tallest Red stood before the computer screen, his arms crossed behind his back. Tallest Purple was relaxing in his chair behind him, casually examining the tips of his fingers.

"You sure about this, Red?" He asked, without looking up. "I mean...I know he's _taller _and all, but it's still _Zim!_"

Tallest Red looked seriously at Purple, knowing that he couldn't fully disagree with him.

"Zim's managed to _double _his height in a very short amount of time. He's one of the tallest Irkens alive now, you know we can't ignore that." Red stated, solemnly.

The two Tallests exchanged glances, seemingly communicating through silent thought.

"And, if his offspring are as troublesome as he is, we can always jettison them into space, or something!" Red added. Purple shrugged in acceptance.

"It's going to be reeeeeealy hard finding him a mate, though!" Purple said, in a warning but amused tone.

Red thought for a moment. He could say that again! Even when it wasn't pre-arranged, Irkens tended to mate with those of a similar height to them due to social boundaries. Seeming as they wanted Zim's DNA because of his ability to grow taller, it would be counterproductive to send him a shorter mate.

This made their task hard enough to begin with, as there were very few Irken females as tall as Zim. The real difficulty, however, would be finding a female who was as tall as him and didn't totally despise him!

Even though, as the All-Mighty Tallest, they could simply order her to go to Earth and mate with him, Red would rather it didn't come to that.

"Mmmm...Yep!" Red agreed, sucking air through his teeth. "But there has to be _somebody! _Any thoughts?"

He turned to his fellow Tallest who, in turn, shrugged non-committally. Red shot back an annoyed look.

"Let's just search all the files on females that correspond with Zim's height, shall we?"

Red waved a hand in an elaborate way, which made a thin keyboard appear from the panel in front of him. He tapped a few keys and waited for the results.

'107 matches'

"Aha!" Red said, optimistically. His face fell as he scrolled further through the files.

"This is no good! These women were either killed during 'Operation Impending Doom I', or are engaged in important missions!"

Purple glanced up from his fingers. "Well...we'll just have to think outside the box. It can't be _that _hard!"

SSSSS

Several hours later, the two Tallests were slumped in their chairs in front of the computer screen. An array of empty snack boxes and soda containers were littered around their feet. Tallest Red ran his long fingers against his forehead, dismally.

"We've looked through every file we have!" He said, in an angry but defeated voice.

Tallest Purple slurped the last of his fifteenth soda, thoughtfully. He looked up at Red, seeming to have an idea.

"Not _every _file!" Purple said, with a touch of mischief in his voice. "We could always look at the Destroyers."

Red blinked, suddenly, at the mention of the specialist military unit known as 'The Destroyers'. He had to think of them so infrequently that he often forgot they existed!

The Destroyers were a small but highly trained group, used for specialist jobs and assassinations. Many of them had been bred and selected from the DNA bank specifically for that purpose.

Hmmmmm...in _theory, _Purple may be on to something! Some of the Destroyers weren't _tall_, exactly, but large. With thick armour permanently grafted to their skin, they were used as living tanks during battle. Red giggled a little at the thought of Zim's face if they sent him a heavily- weaponed juggernaut to mate with!

The only problem with the Destroyers was that, although they were certainly superior warriors, they did exactly what their name suggested: they destroyed things!

They tended to kill every living non-Irken thing in their path, without thought or hesitation. For this reason, when they weren't needed on a mission, they were confined to the secluded planet Loria. Even when they _were_ needed, letting a Destroyer leave planet Loria was a considerable risk.

"Hmmmm...well there's no harm in checking the files." Red conceded, tapping the commands into the keyboard.

After a few moments Red stopped scrolling, the screen showed a file of a female Destroyer called 'Mig'.

"Whoooo...I like the look of that one!" Purple said, impressed. "See, she's tall enough!"

"She's certainly...capable_!_" Red agreed, struggling to find the right words to express himself. "But...look at this!" He said, pointing to the text on the screen. "It says here that she's dangerously insane!"

The two Tallests exchanged glances again, looking furtively at each other in silence.

"So is Zim!" Purple said, finally.

CHAPTER 3: END

A/N: WARNING! THIS (VERY, VERY LONG) NOTE CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Another chapter re-written! I don't want to get into the habit of leaving too many of these 'Author's notes', but I want to talk a little about character development.

By now, the story should be taking shape, and some of you may be thinking 'why did Zim do that?' or 'why isn't Dib doing that any more?' Etc.

I've already said that none of these characters are my own, and liberties must always be taken in a ZADR because...well, can you really imagine Jhonen Vasquez writing an episode where Zim and Dib screw each other? Me neither.

The idea is that Zim is essentially the same as when he first arrived on Earth, seeming as he was already an adult Irken then. His increased perception of the world around him and the situation he is in is just a bi-product of his increased height. This does not necessarily mean (and this is important) that he is clever.

Dib is a little more complicated. Between the time of the prologue ('Spoof cola') and the subsequent chapters, he has grown from a child into a young man. What I will try (but most likely fail) to capture in upcoming chapters is the confusion we all feel towards having to let go of our childhood selves.

At this point in the story, he's at odds with himself. He doesn't really know it, but his feelings towards Zim represent his own personal struggle with finding his place in the world and, essentially, 'growing up'.

Personally, I couldn't imagine Dib as anything other than an intelligent (but socially awkward) teenager, who's ability to over-analyse everything can be his own worst enemy. But that's just me... In this story, Dib is a very late bloomer (seriously, what is he? 16, 17?). His thoughts about his own sexuality have been mostly lost in the struggle I mentioned above.

What he, at first, perceives to be a renewed interest in Zim's activities becomes a kind of 'sexual awakening'. This is the aspect of the story which turns hate into passion of a different kind, and eventually, to love. (Awww...mushy moment...author shoots self in the head in shame).

Don't worry...this isn't going to turn out to be a flowery, hazy-type love story. I can't really write that way, anyway!

ADDITIONAL A/N: I mentioned in the prologue that Irkens have no concept of psychology, yet Mig is described as 'dangerously insane' in this chapter. This is deliberate, but might be a little confusing so I'll explain myself here:

Imagine for a moment that you are a person with no interest in psychology. You literally know absolutely nothing about how the human mind works. The lady sitting next to you on the bus starts muttering to herself and licks the windows. You still think 'she's crazy', right?

Basically, in this story, Irkens don't really know how their mind's work, but they know when one is 'broken'.

That's it from me. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Zim Watches Porn**

"Uuuuuurgh!"

Zim grunted as he lifted up yet another heavy crate, carrying it across the room and placing it beside the others. He stood, hunched over it for a second, breathing hard with effort.

Infuriatingly, Gir had followed him down to the storage deck, and was dancing away in the background, singing to himself.

"GIR!" Zim snapped, suddenly. "STOP THAT!"

The little robot fell silent, seemingly shocked at Zim's tone.

"You're annoying me...just go do something else, I don't care what!" Zim waved his hand dismissively.

Gir shot himself upwards into a tube that led to the upper floor and disappeared. Zim sat down grumpily on the crate, his hands resting on his knees. This was no good!

It had been over a week since the Tallests had contacted him with the news that he would be sent a mate, and Zim had gone through an range of reactions to this.

At first, he was shocked and slightly pleased. He was happy that his leaders thought he could contribute something, _anything_, of value to his race still. Once he had gotten over the initial shock he had become exited at the thought of having a visitor to break up the tedium of his exile. For a few days he had gone about his business in an unusually happy mood, smiling and humming to himself. Gir looked on in silence, convinced his master had finally lost his marbles!

After that had worn off, though, Zim became nervous and agitated. As the reality of his task set in, he started to worry about the finer details. He realised he knew absolutely nothing about the Irken being sent to Earth. For all he knew she could be a complete psychopath! He couldn't even clearly remember the last time he had mated with a female, the last time he had even _seen _one it...well, they didn't exactly hit it off!

Zim knew it couldn't be that bad this time. After all, if she had agreed to mate with him she couldn't _totally _hate him...right? Right?

On top of all this, Zim was still uncomfortably full of goo! He had gotten used to it a little over the past week, but it was still frustrating. Having to fight his natural urge to rid himself of it made him irritable. He wasn't used to this...being governed by his body's base instincts. He wanted control back!

Over the past few days he had tried his best to distract himself; organising and re-organising his tools, running pointless 'experiments', even watching idiotic Earthling television with Gir! Today, he had tried organising the lower storage deck. This had worked for a while, his body appreciating the opportunity to work off some of it's pent-up energy, but now he was bored again.

Zim sat on the edge of the crate, frowning slightly, his knees pressed against his chest.

Hmmmm...maybe he needed a change of scenery? Normally, he'd never even think of something so ridiculous. Humans and their filthy 'society' sickened him so much he wanted to spend as little time exposed to it as possible.

But, he hadn't left his base at all since his fight with Dib...

Zim looked upwards, thoughtfully. Speaking of Dib, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the little meddler since his confinement. This wasn't as strange as it first appeared. Nowadays, Dib's attempts to break into his base were, thankfully, infrequent. It wasn't unusual for Zim to go a week without seeing the human at all.

But...this didn't feel right. The last time they had met, Zim had beaten seven shades of shit out of him. It just wasn't like Dib to let that slide!

Zim hopped down from the crate and began pacing up and down, moodily. Well...let him break in here, if he wants! Zim thought, in a sudden moment of irrational anger.

After all, what will he see if he does? He'll see Zim, pacing around in frustration, and nothing else! 'HAH! How d'ya like that, Dib? I _don't _have any evil plans! _I was telling the truth, for once! _HAHAHAHA!'

Zim stopped pacing, realising what he was saying to himself. He slapped his forehead in amazement. Holy Irk! This confinement was making him _crazy! _

He stood still for a few moments, gathering himself, trying to think clearly. No...adult or child, Dib was still just a human. There's no way he would take the signs at face value, no way he could understand what was happening to him right now.

Zim twitched suddenly as an idea popped into his head.

'Or, could he...'

How did humans mate, anyway?

He realised that, for all the time he had been researching this wretched planet, he had overlooked that part! Zim marvelled at the newly-found hole in his knowledge. Hmmmmm...did he really _want _to know? Probably not, but the boredom and the need to do anything to distract himself peaked his curiosity. Plus, he'd rather research that than waste any more time thinking about that tiresome Dib-human!

He made his way over to the elevator and ordered it to take him to the information centre.

Oh well, he thought, it would kill a few hours, at least!

SSSSS

"BLEEEEUGH! Oh. My. Irk..._That's just...DISGUSTING! _Bleh...SHUT IT OFF! SHUT IT OFF! I'm going to be sick!"

Zim clasped both his hands against his mouth, trying to control the overwhelming nausea. What was _wrong _with this race? He struggled to find words to describe it.

For the past two hours he had been researching the sexual habits of humans. At first, it hadn't been so bad. The computer had pulled up information on their anatomy and the act of human mating itself. Zim had been intrigued (if a little disturbed) to learn that it was essentially the same as Irken mating. How curious!

The next files he read outlined common human mating rituals. The computer displayed extracts from Earth history, where females' favour seemed to be won by bartering or mercilessly slaughtering rival males. Okay, that much made sense...

He had then moved on to more current Earth culture. This was where it started to get really weird! It seemed that humans saw mating as a strange recreational sport, rather than a necessary biological function. In fact, they seemed to be obsessed with it, performing the act constantly, without concern as to whether it would produce offspring or not! Zim struggled to grasp this truly alien concept.

It got even stranger! They had built an entire _industry_ out of sex alone, selling products or 'sex aids', as they put it. What? WHAT?

At this point, Zim reached the end of his short tether of patience. What kind of race needed artificial objects in order to reproduce? It just didn't make any sense! No wonder this stupid race wasn't evolving any more!

Zim had searched through his remaining files in outraged curiosity, wondering how (and why) humans factored this whole 'sex aid' business into their mating habits. This was how he had stumbled on to the truly sickening stuff!

It seemed that, rather than evolving secondary means or reproduction (as Irkens had), humans were only interested in their primary method of mating. They had managed to twist the relatively simple act into bizarre and disturbing new forms. They ranged from the slightly unusual to the insane!

He had seen footage and read graphic depictions of humans having sex using strange vibrating devices, humans having sex with those of the same sex as them, humans having sex with many partners at once, humans having sex in weird clothing (that served no purpose as far as Zim could see), humans biting and hitting each other during sex, humans tying each other up and pouring hot wax onto their skin, humans having sex with animals, humans having sex with humans _dressed_ like animals, humans defecating on each other, and humans having sex with completely random inanimate objects!

He'd finally reached his limit while watching a video of a man having sex with the exhaust pipe of a car, calmly explaining to the camera how it was done without horrifically burning himself.

"Gyaaaa..." Zim shuddered again as the sickness finally subsided. _"Filthy, filthy creatures!" _

Zim sat in the silence, the darkness of his base seemed unusually heavy and desolate. Zim was suddenly very aware that he was alone in there; alone with the disgusting images he had just witnessed. Already he could feel them searing into his memory. He gave a little internal gulp.

Maybe going outside wasn't such a bad idea, after all!

SSSSS

Gaz walked down the hallway, her long black skirt swishing behind her as she went. She held her black backpack, decorated with a white skull pattern, against her shoulders with both hands. She stopped outside the open door of her brother's room, shooting a begrudging look sideways.

Dib was sat with his back to her, hunched over his desk. He'd been in that same position for days! Tools and electrical equipment were scattered around his elbows, and he appeared to be wearing protective goggles. Orange light glowed from somewhere in front of him, accompanied by a few tiny sparks: he was probably soldering something.

"I'm going to skool now, Dib." She said. "Do you still want me to say you're out sick?"

Dib didn't answer. Instead he waved a dismissive hand towards her, without looking up from his work. This was all the instruction Gaz needed, she carried on walking towards the top of the staircase.

"Maybe I'll tell them you have syphilis today." She said to herself.

Dib heard the front door slam, but didn't move an inch. Gently, carefully, he welded two wires together, melting the metal and plastic into one.

He was busy modifying a large-scale taser manufactured by his father's company. The device looked more like a laser gun, and was designed to be strapped onto the user's forearm. Two metal prongs, about four inches in length, protruded from it's 'business' end.

Dib smirked to himself as he went about his work. This taser was originally designed to stun bears and other large animals. Dib could still remember the advert for it: (Scout Troop 524 used the new 'Stun-O-Matic' from Membrane Industries, and now up to 20% of their Scouts come back uneaten!) But Dib was modifying it for a different use. His smile widened as he neared the end of his task.

It had taken him days to recover from the beating Zim had given him. Some of the bruises around his neck were still visible, and his bones still ached a little. He'd had to stuff tissue paper up his nose for three whole days! But there would be payback...oh yes, there would be payback!

Dib still didn't know what was making Zim act so crazy, but he hadn't given up on finding out. The alien had gotten the drop on him last time, but next time he would be prepared. If Zim tried to lay a finger on him again...BAM! A gazillion volts of electricity!

"That should do it!" Dib said to himself, strapping the taser-gun onto his arm. It was surprisingly light, feeling like an extension of his arm rather than a weapon.

He'd tried to scale the force of the electric shock down to 50%, so that it could be used on something of Zim's size. He wanted to incapacitate the alien, not kill him! After all, what use would he be to Dib if he was dead?

Dib took aim at an empty cola can perched on his windowsill. He cocked his head to one side, closing one of his eyes. He gently pulled the trigger of the gun, feeling the machine charging itself, it's force vibrating through his outstretched arm...

It sure was taking a long time to charge! Inadvertently, Dib glanced down at the newly-modified power gauge. Wait! Why was there an extra zero there? Did that say 50%, or 500%?

"OH SHI-"

BLAM!

SSSSS

Zim walked along the pavement with a little content smile on his face. He held the handle of Gir's leash behind his back, the robot in the puppy suit ran around excitedly on the other end. He sighed to himself, happily. Who would have thought it? Being outside was helping his mood after all!

He barely noticed the people he walked past, chattering aimlessly or shovelling greasy food into their gaping mouths. He enjoyed the mid-morning sunlight as it warmed his skin, the freshness of the air feeling strangely invigorating.

For the first time since he arrived on Earth, Zim was actually _enjoying _being there! Aside from the people, the cities and that awful 'water' stuff, Earth wasn't all that bad! The scenery and the atmosphere were pleasantly calming.

It was probably because he had been cooped up for so long, with nothing to distract him from his bodily urges. In fact, he had almost forgotten about his goo entirely. He could barely feel it, sloshing around inside him, aching to be released, driving him crazy. The gentle exercise was muting it's effects.

Zim turned into the park, strolling through the grass and the trees. He even whistled a little tune to himself. He would never admit it to anybody, not even Gir, but he had developed a fondness for Earth's greenery over the last few years. It made a welcome change from most of the other planets Zim had been on, which were made of endless, boring horizons of rock or ice.

He bent down to let Gir off his leash. The robot blinked, clueless. It always confused him when his master was in a happy mood. After a few seconds he shrugged and started to run around, bashing into things and jumping into piles of grass cuttings. Zim smiled and looked on.

SSSSS

Dib trudged, grumpily, down the street, checking over the mental list of wires and connectors he had to buy at the store. Accidentally setting the taser-gun to 5 times normal power had completely fried it's circuits, he would have to re-wire the whole thing again!

Oh, it had fired, all right! The force of it had nearly ripped Dib's arm out of it's socket and had caused his window to shatter into a million pieces. It was also the reason that Dib smelled singed right now! Dib muttered, irritably, under his breath as he walked.

Without his taser-gun, Dib had been forced to borrow Gaz's crowbar in case he ran into Zim. He didn't know why his sister had a crowbar, but something told him he didn't want to know! He told himself, unconvincingly, that he wasn't borrowing it because he was _scared _of Zim. No, it was for...other...reasons. Other reasons he hadn't figured out yet!

He turned to take a short cut through the park, swinging the metal bar at his side. He walked past a few benches and trees, noticing how few people there were today. He froze in his tracks as he saw the very person he had been thinking about.

Zim was stood with his back to Dib, wearing his black wig, his hands clasped behind him. He seemed to be looking at the expanse of freshly-cut grass in front of him, gazing into space.

Dib's body moved on it's own. He felt a rush of panicked anger as he ran forwards, flailing the crowbar around randomly, until he hit something.

"AYAAAAAAAH!" Zim screamed, as pain shot through his left arm. He jumped back, swivelling round to face his attacker, clutching his left hand with his right.

"_Owwww! Dib? You hit me on the hand?"_ Zim breathed through gritted teeth, examining his fingers in case anything was broken. Dib took a defensive stance, clutching the crowbar with both hands.

The two stood there for a few moments, the only sounds were the far-off chirping of birds and Dib breathing heavily. Zim moved first, making an attempt to walk towards the human. Dib fell back immediately, clutching his weapon even tighter.

"Don't even try it, Zim! I mean it!" Dib said, with only a hint of shakiness to his voice. "I don't know what got into you last time, but I'm not going to let you beat me again!"

Zim cursed himself, silently. He knew he shouldn't have gone outside! How was he supposed to handle this? It seemed like the most important thing to do first was calm the Dib down, so that he wouldn't hit him again!

"Ermmm...yeah. About that..." Zim trailed off, averting his gaze and nonchalantly scratching the back of his neck. Behind him, Gir popped his head out of a pile of grass cuttings and started watching them.

"What?" Dib demanded, angrily. He was determined to not drop his guard, even for a second.

Zim was at a loss, he really didn't know what to say!

A little voice in his head told him that he should just tell Dib the truth; that he had beaten him up because he was full of male goo, which made him irrational and competitive. It's as good an explanation as any lie, the voice said. He might even believe it and leave you alone! Another voice butted in, telling him that it was a ridiculous idea. This is _Dib _we're talking about, this voice said, he never lets anything drop. What's more, you beat him senseless that last time you met. Look at him, he's seriously pissed off! Don't bother telling him anything, just get away from him right now!

A third voice chimed in. You better do something soon, this voice said, because he looks like he's going to hit you again!

"Hey! Answer me!" Dib riled, swiping at Zim with the crowbar, catching the palm of his right hand as Zim brought it up to defend himself.

"OWWWW...FUCK! ENOUGH WITH THE HANDS! Okay, okay...I'll talk!"

Dib cocked his head to one side, shooting Zim an un-trusting look. Zim looked away from him, kicking his heels against the ground in embarrassment.

"Look...I...you were right, I'm...sick." He muttered. Dib's gaze hardened.

"You don't _look_ sick!" He replied, sharply.

"Well...it's not so much a sickness as it is...erm..." Zim trailed off again, his face feeling unusually hot. Damn! This was all levels of awkward! "It's more of a..._condition_. Umm..."

Dib lowered the crowbar, his anger subsiding to curiosity. Was...was Zim _blushing? _It certainly looked like it. The skin below his eyes had flushed a deep shade of green. He kicked the dirt hard with one foot, seeming to pull himself together. He brought his gaze back to Dib, looking him square in the eye.

"Listen, Dib. If you must know, I'm going through my reproductive phase. See? No 'master plan', no alien viruses. I'm just full of..._stuff_, which made me go a little crazy! Okay?"

Dib blinked, slowly, waiting for what Zim had said to sink in. Zim felt that odd feeling again; the same one he had felt when he remembered the fight between them. As he stood there, in the unsettling knowledge that he had just shared something with the human, watching him struggle to understand it, he felt strangely exposed.

"_It's your own fault!" _Zim snapped, surprised by his own anger. "You shouldn't have stood in my way! Irken males kill each other over less, you know!"

Dib wasn't listening, instead he was thinking. The cogs in his mind were turning, slowly but surely, towards a conclusion. Something in his gut (something that may have watched too many sci-fi movies) told him that 'Aliens + Multiplying = Bad News'!

"Say I do believe you..." Dib said, slyly "...why tell me this? You really think I'm going to sit back and let you populate Earth with your alien space-children? You're not reproducing on my planet!"

Zim twitched in shock. For one irrational minute, he thought Dib must know about the female being sent to Earth. Once the moment had passed, he calmed himself. The Dib was just speculating! There was no way he could know about his mate, and no reason he had to know either!

"You're right...I'm not!" Zim lied, a confident little smirk spreading across his face.

"Yeah! Wait...huh?"

"Think about it. I'm a male, just like you. Can _you_ reproduce by yourself?"

Dib stared at Zim blankly. Zim's smirk broadened as he lifted up two of his slender fingers into a 'peace' sign.

"It's very simple, Dib. My race has two sexes. Remember Tak? There are no Irken females on this planet, so I can't reproduce here, can I?"

Dib blinked again. "I...guess not." He conceded, thoroughly confused.

"Well, then. There you have it! Nothing interesting going on here, nothing to concern yourself with, I'll just be a little cranky for a while, and then I'll be as good as new! Bye, Dib! See you in skool. Gir! Come on, we're going home!"

With that, Zim turned and walked away. Gir followed him, making little squeaking noises as he ran. Dib stood motionless for a moment, still in shock, trying to figure out if he had just won or lost that exchange.

"Hey! Zim, wait I..."

Dib trailed off and sniffed the air. There was that smell again, the sweet but sharp scent that Dib had smelled in class! It was much stronger this time. Dib looked around, bewildered. He had thought that smell was Zim, but he had already left. Where was it coming from?

Dib looked down at the crowbar. There was a little glob of green goo on the end of it. Dib brought it up to eye level, examining it closely.

"What on Earth...?"

CHAPTER 4: END


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Mig**

Dib sat back in his chair, sighing heavily. He peeled off the goggles he was wearing, replacing them with his glasses.

For the remainder of the day, he had finished repairing the taser-gun, although he had lost some of his previous enthusiasm. It had already gotten dark outside, a few lonely stars shining through the gloom of the night sky. Dib's room was illuminated with several bright desk lamps, all pointed downwards to his desk.

Dib sighed again, leaning backwards and glancing up at the ceiling. He still didn't know what to make of his last encounter with Zim. The memory felt too fresh, like it hadn't sunk in properly yet. It _couldn't _be as simple as Zim said it was...could it? Dib brought his hands up behind his head, thinking hard.

It _did _kind of make sense. It explained why Zim had been acting so weird lately, and why he hadn't been going to skool. He'd asked Gaz to check for him, and it seemed he had been absent for a week. Come to think of it, Zim had seemed really eager to get away from him earlier. He'd even tried to run away before the fight! Dib felt a flinch of resentment as the alien's words ran through his head: '_It's your own fault...you shouldn't have stood in may way!'_

Usually, when Zim was plotting something, his natural pride outweighed the need to keep it a secret. If Dib pestered him about it, he wouldn't tell him, but he wouldn't deny it either. He'd just smirk at him with his cocky, arrogant smile. But Dib had sensed nothing like that in the park. Zim seemed different this time. It wasn't like him to act this..._vulnerable. _

Still, if it was true, why would Zim tell him about it? That was the part that Dib struggled to understand. He could have just as easily lied, or told him to go away, like he usually did. What could he possibly gain from letting him in on this?

He looked over to the edge of his desk. On it stood a microscope, the slide below it contained some of that weird goop that he had found on the end of the crowbar.

He wheeled the chair over to it and peered through the lens, adjusting the focus. Dib didn't know what this stuff was, but he knew it had come from Zim somehow. Maybe it could give him more of a clue.

As the fuzzy picture came into view, Dib blinked in amazement, adjusting his glasses to get a better picture.

Hmmmm...if Zim's story checked out, then what he was looking at must be the Irken equivalent of sperm cells. It sure looked like it! Against the green background, he could clearly see single-celled organisms, moving at random. Unlike the human sperm cells that Dib had seen in Biology, these ones had multiple tails, and swam around slowly, like jellyfish. The natural scientist in him couldn't help but be impressed.

"Woah!" He muttered, quietly. "So Zim _was_ telling the truth."

"Who was?"

Gaz's sullen face appeared at Dib's side, seeming mildly intrigued. Dib started slightly in surprise.

"Jeez, Gaz, don't you ever knock?"

"Don't you ever shut your door?" She retorted, an iota of annoyance creeping into her voice. "The nurse says you need a note if you want any more sick days."

"Can't you write one again? I've just discovered something really important!"

"What?" Gaz asked, uninterested.

"Well, I think I've figured out what's making Zim so crazy! He said he's going through some kind of...alien...reproductive cycle." Dib smiled, feeling some of his interest returning. Gaz raised a single eyebrow.

"I didn't believe him a first, but then I saw this. It's a sample of some of the fluid he's been leaking, it's got all these alien cells in it and-"

"Wow" Gaz cut him off, seeming momentarily impressed.

"I know, right? It's-"

"That's the gayest, nerdiest thing I've ever heard!" She said, flatly. Dib blinked at his sister, staring at her in silence for a few minutes.

"You don't get it, Gaz!" He continued, trying to take it in his stride. "I have some of Zim's DNA! I have proof of a life form that multiplies like no other on Earth!"

"You're looking at Zim's splooge through a microscope!" Gaz pointed out, slightly amused.

"_It's not splooge!" _Dib replied, becoming agitated. "It's some kind of...fluid." Dib trailed off. "Okay, maybe it _is _splooge!" He admitted.

"How did you get it?" Gaz asked, a mocking smile spreading across her face.

"I..._ewwwww! _That's gross, Gaz! No! I didn't get if _from _him! I kinda...found it."

"Yeah, right!" Gaz shrugged and left the room, still smiling to herself. Dib could hear her giggling as she disappeared down the hall. He crossed his arms, sulking a little.

After a few minutes he sat up, making his way over to the bed. He laid on top of the covers, eyes wide open, lost in thought again.

Gaz just didn't understand! Sure, it was a little gross that he had some of Zim's 'sperm', but it wasn't like that! It wasn't as if he was actually interested in it, not in _that _way! He was just intrigued, that's all! He'd never had to think of Zim this way before. He wasn't totally stupid; he knew that Irkens had to pro-create somehow. But, he'd never thought of Zim actually...doing anything like that. He never thought _he'd _have to think of Zim doing anything like that. The whole thing was starting to give him a headache!

Dib glanced over to the newly repaired taser-gun. He gave a little defeated shrug. Who was he kidding? All this meant was that the situation was even harder to handle now! So Zim was telling the truth, for once. So what? What did that mean? Was it really any of Dib's business any more? What was he supposed to do, taser him to death for being able to reproduce?

He felt a little twinge of pity as he remembered the pathetic look of embarrassment on Zim's face when he had told him about it, the blushing, the averted gaze. It had almost looked like he was...suffering, or something.

Dib was torn from his thoughts by a deep rumbling underneath him. He sat up, suddenly, as he noticed his bed was shaking. The shelves on his wall rattled loudly, small objects on them falling to the floor. He gripped his bed frame in shock. What now? An earthquake?

The gloomy sky outside darkened to pitch black. The gentle breeze that had been blowing through the open window stopped, making the room seem eerily still. Dib shuffled over to the window to get a better look.

"Aaaaaah!"

He shouted in surprise as he was blinded by a sudden dazzling light. He felt an almighty impact, which caused the remaining shards of glass in his window to shudder loose and shatter on the ground below. He blinked furiously, rubbing his eyes, hearing several loud crashes and the splintering of wood. As his vision slowly returned, he could feel smoke burning in his throat and hear the low crackling of flames. A fire?

"Holy shit!"

Dib gazed down into the back yard, not quite believing what he was seeing. What looked like an small alien ship stood in the centre of a wide circle of burned, blackened grass. The ship itself looked intact, but the neighbour's fence had a huge hole ripped trough it. Numerous small fires burned on the lawn, giving off thin turrets of black smoke.

After a moment's hesitation, he spun around, running towards the stairs. An alien ship, really? What were the odds of this crap happening to the same guy twice? He thought to himself in panicked wonderment.

As he reached the back yard he slowed down, observing the ship carefully. It was the size of a small car, but more streamlined, obviously shaped for space travel. He edged closer, taking in it's appearance.

Dib had seen enough of Zim's technology to recognise what it looked like, and he was willing to bet that this was an irken ship. It bore the same design and purple-pink colour. Sure enough, the black stamp of Zim's race was on it's side. As he reached the edge of the ship itself he noticed the top was open, displaying the cockpit inside. Red symbols shone through the darkness. Dib craned his neck, trying to see if there was anything inside.

"H-hello?" He stammered. Silence. Behind him a fire crackled. Another piece of the fence fell off and broke.

He edged forward again, close enough to put his hands on the edge of the cockpit. He froze as he felt his foot brush up against something. He looked down, amongst the rubble and scorched earth something shone in the dim light. He bent down and picked up what looked like a black metal cube, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. Without thinking he stuffed it into his pocket, turning his attention back to the ship.

The metal on the outside was still warm to the touch, with large black scorch marks running along it's sides. The lights inside still flashed, the ticking and whirring of the machinery indicating that the ship was still active.

Dib felt anger bubble within him as he realised that this wasn't one of Zim's ships. It couldn't be, this ship looked like it had just entered Earth's atmosphere. He clenched his hands into fists at his sides.

God damn it! He knewZim wasn't being straight with him earlier. He just _knew _it! He could sense it in his stupid, arrogant grin. There was no way Zim didn't know about this, _just no way!_

"ZIM! YOU LYING, GREEN, BASTARD!"

Dib shouted at the sky. Somewhere behind him, the air seemed to move. He heard the tiniest sound, like someone sighing, in the stillness. He reeled around, pressing his back to the ship.

"W-who's there?"

SSSSS

The Irken hovered in the darkness. The night vision visor displayed the green outline of a large animal. It stood, staring but unseeing, in her direction. She waited for information to appear, the only sound was her own muffled breathing and the near-silent blinking of the visor:

'Indigenous Earth life form'

'Target threat level: low'

She lowered the laser gun she had trained on it, cocking her head to one side curiously. That thing had just said Zim's name. That meant she must be in the right place.

She slipped closer, close enough to reach out and touch it. Close enough to hear it's shallow, panicked breathing.

SSSSS

Dib reeled around again as he felt another invisible movement beside him. A few blades of grass rustled, even though the air in the yard stayed creepily still.

"_I know you're there!" _

Dib shouted into the emptiness, trying to sound self-assured. He brought his hands up instinctively, trying to balance himself in case he had to run. For a split-second, he thought he could feel his fingertips brush up against something. Something cold...something _living! _He snapped back in shock.

Dib gulped, audibly. Wishing that he had a flash light, or the crowbar, or anything to defend himself with. He hadn't seen a creature move this quickly through the darkness since, since... He gulped again, his panicking mind gripped by a sudden irrational thought.

"...Ms. Bitters?"

The unexpected answer came from a few inches behind Dib's neck. He felt sudden hot breath against his skin, making every single hair on the back of his head stand up. A low, husky voice, as quiet as a whisper but as clear as a bell.

"_No"_

Dib felt a slip-stream of air 'whoosh' at his side, running in the opposite direction. A few leaves on the tree in the neighbour's yard rustled, and then it was gone. Dib stood, alone in the gloom, the fires beside him crackling and dying out.

Despite himself, he gave a little muted yelp and ran inside.

SSSSS

"Dooooo de do de do de doo dooo!"

Gir sang to himself, contentedly, bopping his head from side to side. The flickering TV screen showed mute cartoon characters jumping up and down. His Irken master sat beside him on the sofa, elbow resting on the arm, holding his head up. He frowned, darkly, into the space in front of him, cursing quietly.

Why was he so _stupid _sometimes? Caught off guard, he had told that interfering human what was going on. What on Irk was he thinking? Did he really think Dib was going to let the matter drop? Humph! No way! Zim was sure that human would keep hounding him, for one reason or another, until the end of his wretched life! The thought of that had put him in a foul mood all afternoon.

Oh well...no use crying about it now. It was already done. At least he didn't know the full story, Zim had managed to salvage that much. Dib had even looked like he believed him! And even if he didn't, what was he going to do... come over here and cut off his reproductive organs?

Zim winced (as any male would) at the sudden unpleasant thought, clasping his hands together on his lap, pressing his knees together tightly.

As the moment passed, he sighed in reflection. Who would have thought this was going to be so much trouble? He found himself wishing this ordeal would be over with soon.

A shrill 'beeping' sound rang through the upper level of the base. Zim's antennae sprang up in surprise, Gir continued singing, seemingly oblivious. Zim sprang up from the sofa, hurrying over to the nearest control panel, embedded in the wall. He tapped in a few keys to figure out what was going on, the answer flashed in red symbols.

'Ship signal identified'

"Where is it?" He asked out loud, knowing full well that the panel wasn't voice activated. He continued tapping keys impatiently.

Sure enough, the computer gave information of a small Irken ship, that had already landed not far from the base. The trajectory was a little off...but, then again, how was she supposed to know exactly where Zim was?

"GIR! Come on, we have to go!"

SSSSS

Zim gasped for air, doubling over with exhaustion. He had ran at full speed from his base towards the landing site for the ship, Gir trying his best to keep up with him. Through his heavy breathing he looked up, realising that he was in the park again. Strange...he had only been here a few times since he was sent to Earth, and now he had visited the exact same spot twice in one day.

He didn't like this; the route was taking him closer and closer to Dib's house. Gah! It would be just his luck if that human had actually seen anything!

A sudden wind blew in a circle around him, shocking him into standing upright. The leaves on nearby trees stayed motionless, and still the air moved around him. Zim could sense something, swirling in the darkness.

"What are you?" He commanded, with all the authority he could muster, feeling himself slip into 'attack mode'. _"Show yourself!"_

An Irken shimmered into view before him, seemingly from nothing. Gir made a little, impressed whistling noise. Zim looked on in amazement.

"...ulp!"

SSSSS

Dib rummaged, frantically, through the drawers of his desk. C'mon...where was it?

Once he had gotten back inside, it had taken him a while to stop shaking. Whatever the hell that thing was, it had scared the living piss out of him!

After that, he had remembered the black cube in his pocket. He'd dug it out, trying to figure out what it could possibly be. It wasn't actually black, just covered in soot. As Dib handled it a fine black powder rubbed off onto his fingers. Underneath, it was a very shiny purple colour.

Dib had looked at it, turning it over in his hands, checking for any distinguishing features. Suddenly, it had made a little 'click' sound, startling him enough to make him drop it onto his desk.

"Wow!"

He watched in wonder as the cube unfolded gracefully into a larger, flatter square, about the size of a piece of paper. When it was done a holographic screen scanned across it's surface, showing an image of an Irken, and lots of alien text.

C'mon...c'mon...where had he put that thing? Years ago, he had figured out a translation key for Zim's language. He had been really proud of it at the time, attempting to show his father, his teachers and anyone else who would listen. But, as usual, nobody believed him, thinking that he had just made the whole thing up. To be fair, Dib had no way of proving that he hadn't.

Aha! He produced a wrinkled, old, piece of paper from the back of a drawer. He laid it next to the holographic screen, smoothing it out. He hoped this was accurate!

As he went about slowly, methodically, translating the text on display, he felt his heart sink. He didn't like what he read:

'Name: Mig'

'Sex: F'

'Generation: 45962'

'Rank: Destroyer class 7'

Dib swallowed, feeling a tightness creep into his throat. He looked at the image of what must be 'Mig'. She was an Irken, all right! Dib didn't like the look of her, not one bit.

Inadvertently, he touched something on the screen's surface. The display changed, flashing up a single line of text, way too quickly for Dib to translate it:

'WARNING: CLASSIFIED INFORMATION!'

"Heh?" Dib said in confusion. The screen changed again, displaying another block of text. Dib started to translate it, reading as he went:

'Training: Devastis, high-class'

'Specialities: Stealth, explosives'

'Confirmed kills: 246'

'Observations: Highly motivated, hair-trigger temper, dangerously insane!'

The last two words had been underlined. Dib swallowed again. He _definitely _didn't like the sound of that! Dib re-read the 'confirmed kills' part, not quite believing it. From her photo, she didn't look all that tough. A little sinister, maybe, but not _that _tough!

"Unauthorised user identified. Self destruct sequence initiated." A calm voice said, in English.

"What?"

BOOM!

The device exploded, causing Dib to jump backwards, covering his face. All that was left of it was a small scorch mark on the desk, and a few singed pieces of paper.

Dib coughed, flapping his arms, trying to waft the smoke away. Whoever this 'Mig' was, she sure liked to blow stuff up!

Dib stood in silence for a few moments, not quite sure what to do with himself. He heard a tiny 'crack' of glass breaking. He glanced sideways to the microscope, just a few inches away from where the explosion had been. The slide, which had some of Zim's goo on it, had cracked. Possibly reacting to the heat, or the prolonged exposure to air, the liquid had evaporated, leaving only a thin green powder behind.

"AWW..._FUCK!" _

SSSSS

The two Irkens stood close to one another, both looking at the small device the female held in her hand.

"Okay, done. I've sent my ship to dock at your base." She said, placing the remote back into the side panel of her PAK.

They both stepped back, putting a few feet of distance between them. They stood still, regarding each other silently.

"Uh...you shouldn't be out here like that...without a disguise, I mean!" Zim stammered, pointing to his eye lenses.

Shit! Why did he feel so nervous? He'd had a week of build-up to this moment. A week of worrying and anticipating and rehearsing things that he could say. And now he stood there, like a complete idiot, without any idea what he should do! He felt sick, like he was going to faint.

The female just stood there, analysing him with cold detachment.

"I doubt there's a being on this planet that I couldn't evade." She said, flatly, without a trace of arrogance in her voice. It was more of a bland statement, like saying that the sky on Earth is blue.

"Oh. Right." Was all Zim managed to say. He felt his throat tighten, tiny beads of sweat running down his back. They stood in silence for what seemed like forever. Suddenly, she blinked, seeming to remember something. She reached into her pocket.

"Ah! I'm...where is it? Damn it all! I think I dropped my identification pad!"

Zim breathed a little sigh of relief as he felt the atmosphere lighten. The female spent the next few minutes searching through her many pockets, swearing quietly to herself. Zim used this opportunity to check out her appearance.

She looked just a little shorter than him, with a slim build and pale green skin. There was a kind of savage beauty to her, like an untamed animal. Her eyes had a dark lining to them, making them appear sharp and unforgiving, and in stark contrast to her delicate eyelashes. Unlike the bright red or purple Zim had often seen, her eyes were an attractive maroon colour, so dark that Zim could almost see his reflection in them. Her antennae were very long (a feature Irkens found highly appealing) and curled behind her head in several loops.

Her outfit was interesting. Not the usual Irken uniform; this one was black all over, except for the PAK, which had white panels. A small tag on her chest read: 'Destroyer class 7'. Zim didn't know what a 'Destroyer' was (or what it meant to be a 'class 7' one), but he got the general idea from the name.

Zim gulped silently, realising the root of his nervousness. In his shorter days he would have torn off his right antennae to even _touch _a woman this tall and beautiful! He'd almost forgotten that they existed. The many years he had been separated from the female of his species caught up with him at once, crashing into him like a train.

While she was looking away from him, he gawped at her in awe, like she was a new and exotic specimen. When she looked back at him her expression was sharp but eerily neutral. Zim couldn't tell if she was about to smile at him or rush over and tear his head off. He felt a sudden impulse to straighten his back.

"I'm Mig." She said, lamely, seeming to give up on protocol.

"Hi...erm..." Zim coughed, trying to cover up his nerves. "I'm Zi-"

"I know who you are."

"Oh...right! Of course." The pair met with another awkward silence. Mig showed a tiny flicker of emotion this time, averting her eyes and lowering her head slightly.

"Yes. Well, the Tallests said I could see some action in the next planetary conquest if I mated with you. So..." She extended one hand towards Zim, as if to give him a hand-shake.

Offering a hand could mean many things on Irk, as it could on Earth. But, unlike humans, Irkens regarded the hands as secondary sex organs. In a situation like this one, a female extending her hand to a male could only mean one thing.

"_HERE? Right now?" _Zim exclaimed, suddenly feeling very shy.

"Why not?" Mig shrugged, her expression not changing.

"Ummmm...heh...erm..."

SSSSS

Dib ran through the darkened streets, dodging underneath pools of yellow light from the street lamps, still worried that _thing _was hiding somewhere in the darkness. He was just thankful that he had repaired the taser-gun after all, he gripped it tightly in one hand as he ran.

Dib felt determined, oddly spurred on by the shock of the evening's events. Everything had happened so quickly he didn't have time to think before he acted. Rushes of adrenaline carried him through the fear, his mind and body focused.

He was starting to understand now. Zim had told him the truth and lied to him at the same time! He had told Dib about his reproductive phase as a _distraction. _He was probably hoping that information would placate him enough to drop his investigation, so that he wouldn't find out about his visitor. Dib didn't know what Zim's plan was, exactly, but he knew this: it was no coincidence that an Irken, a _female _Irken, was here now.

Dib felt an unnameable rage building within him. Zim had _lied _to him. He had looked him straight in the eye and lied to him! _And he had actually bought it! _He had really believed that it was different this time, that this wasn't just another of Zim's weird-ass plans to wipe out humanity. Dib's fury hardened as he realised that he had actually felt a little _sorry _for Zim. He had thought that whatever he must have been going through was personal and difficult...he may have even wanted to _help _him! 

Without stopping, Dib spat on the floor, feeling bile rise in his throat.

He didn't know much about Mig, but he hadn't liked what he had seen so far! If that thing in the back yard was her (and if what was written on that alien device was true), then she was easily more capable than Zim was! There was now a real alien threat on planet Earth, and he knew there was only one place she could be heading!

Dib stopped running as he reached the end of the street. The strobing of the passing street lights and his intense rage blocking his vision. Panting heavily, he lifted his glasses onto the top of his head and rubbed his eyes with one hand, trying to regain his composure. He was probably still recovering from those bright explosions earlier.

The blaring of a car horn roused him from his thoughts. Dib snapped his glasses back on, seeing a set of headlights careering towards him. He realised, with a thump of dread, that he must be standing in the middle of the road.

"SHIT!" He shouted, jumping sideways and expertly rolling into a crouching position, tucking the gun against his chest.

He expected the car to fly past him, the driver screaming obscenities out of the window. Instead it braked sharply, spinning to the side and slamming into a fire hydrant. Dib blinked at the scene in amazement. Then, seemingly in slow motion the car exploded, causing great jets of flame to shoot upwards, burning bright yellow, illuminating the night sky. Hunks of metal flew at all angles, Dib's mouth fell open in mute horror as a wheel rolled across the pavement.

He stood, frozen to the spot for what seemed like forever, even though it was probably only a few seconds. The car (now just a twisted mass of metal) wrapped around the hydrant, thick sprays of water arching over it like a fountain.

After a few more minutes, the wailing of sirens broke him from his stupor. As he saw an ambulance and a police car screech around the corner, he panicked, looking around for somewhere to hide. He took a few hurried steps to the left, hoping to duck into the bushes near the park. No such luck. He felt a strong hand grip his arm and pull him backwards.

"Hey kid. You see what happened?" A heavy set police officer pulled Dib around, gesturing with one chubby hand towards the wreckage.

Dib pulled the taser-gun closer to his chest, trying to hide it under his coat. "N-o." He said, carefully. The officer sniffed, lifting the bill of his cap with his gun.

"What's that?" He asked, roughly, pointing to the half-concealed taser-gun. A younger and more able looking colleague joined the officer's side.

"It's nothing!" Dib said, alarmed. "It's a...toy...thing."

The officers exchanged disbelieving glances, the fat one not letting go of Dib's arm. Dib gulped, quietly.

SSSSS

"So...why not?" Mig repeated to a still stammering Zim, her hand still extended towards him.

"Well...erm...you need to come back to the base anyway...for your ship!" Zim scrambled.

"That's true." Mig conceded, lowering her arm slightly.

The conversation was cut off by a loud explosion. Behind Mig's head, somewhere in the middle distance, Zim saw a jet of flame rise into the sky. She reeled around, seemingly mesmerised by it. Zim rushed to her side, trying to get a better look.

The two Irkens stood in silence for a moment, staring at the orange light burning in the distance.

"Wow..." She said, slowly. "How pretty."

Zim looked sideways at Mig. "How pretty..." He repeated, without really knowing why.

Her expressionless face had softened as she gazed, transfixed, at the flames. The weak glow of the light illuminated her face, the tiniest of smiles on her lips, the fire reflected in her dark, widened eyes. Maybe it was the light, but Zim was certain, for a moment, that he could see an intriguing glint in them. In a split-second of clarity he looked deeply at her and saw a blissful vacancy that suggests that the person isn't quite all there; a kind of disjointed look belonging to those who's understanding of the universe isn't in step with everyone else's.

In that brief moment, it was the most beautiful thing that Zim had ever seen.

"That kind of thing happens all the time here." He added.

"It does?" She turned towards him, looking at him in a way that made Zim's stomach flip over.

"Yep! You don't have to go _right away_...it must have been a very long trip." he ventured.

"Well, I...guess not." Mig replied.

CHAPTER 5: END

A/N: Dib is failing a lot, isn't he? Did I mean to write him this unlucky? Ah well, it'll work out for him in the end, I'm sure ^_^


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: It took me forever to write this chapter! Apparently you can get writer's block even when you know how the story will end. This is where it finally gets graphic, and I find it really hard to write het. It's kind of hard to imagine, from this chapter, that this story is a ZADR, but it'll all make sense in the end.

**Chapter 6: The 'Other' Way**

Mig giggled, shutting her eyes. In one hand she held a blue circular glass, the clear liquid inside sloshing around.

"So, so this 'meat' stuff fused to your skin for 3 days?" She asked, still laughing.

"Yeah!" Zim grinned. Refilling his own glass. "In the end it took a hammer and chisel to get it all off!"

The two of them laughed again, Mig spilling tiny amounts of her drink. They were sat on the sofa in the living room of Zim's base, drinking an Irken beverage that had a similar effect to alcohol. After Zim had found the bottle he had ordered Gir to make himself scarce; he was now sitting outside in his puppy suit, looking mournfully through the windows.

After they had decided to leave the park the two Irkens had travelled in silence. Whenever a car drove past, Mig would vanish, leaving Zim to walk on his own. Mig didn't so much as glance at him for the entire trip, instead she was on the lookout for anything that might see her. When she was at his side, Zim stared at her constantly. He was still trying to get a handle on her. It didn't help that she wasn't very communicative, or that she kept disappearing on him! As he stared at her he found himself wondering what she was thinking, wishing he had more to go on than her blank face.

When they had reached the base he had a sudden idea. He told her to wait outside and ran to get the 'Standard II pulse grenades' he had found while re-organising the storage deck.

"You like explosions?" He said, smiling, showing her the box. She eyed him suspiciously for a moment before nodding. "Great, follow me."

Zim had taken her up to a secluded spot, high up above the city near the observatory. He had been there a few times with Gir, so he knew that it would be deserted at night. There they had sat together, throwing the grenades over the cliff edge and watching the resulting wreckage.

Despite her insistence that she wouldn't be seen, Zim had persuaded Mig to don a holographic disguise. She now looked like an attractive young woman, with pale skin and black clothing. Jet black hair reached her jawline in a 'bob' style. The only thing that looked slightly fake were the eyes, which were a vivid violet colour. It made Zim painfully aware of just how lame his own disguise was.

They had taken it in turns to throw the grenades, which fell amongst the streets below before exploding in a wide dome of flames and blue light. As the people ran around like confused ants, cars screeching and people screaming, some of them on fire, Zim and Mig collapsed with laughter. Mig seemed especially into it, grinning manically as she drew her arm back to throw another grenade, savouring the frightened screams that drifted through the night.

At one point they could hear a man screaming "OH GOD! MY SPINE!" Mig had fallen onto her back, laughing so hard that she couldn't bear to stand up, clutching her sides, tears rolling down her face.

Zim was laughing too, laughing like he hadn't in a long, long time. It was always fun to watch humans suffer, but seeing Mig enjoy it so much was making him appreciate it more. She had turned to him, still laughing, and said "Look at them run! Are Earthlings always this funny?"

Zim had nodded his response, feeling a sudden pang of longing towards her. He was overcome with the desire to see her face again; to touch it, to be closer to her. This pleasant but odd feeling had stayed with him for the rest of the night.

As the first light of dawn shone over the horizon, sirens wailing through the gloom and thick black smoke rising through the air, they had finally decided to go home.

Which brought them to where they were now. As the laughter died down into a comfortable silence, Zim sat further back on the sofa, sipping his drink.

"So...what's Loria like?" He asked.

Mig paused, mid-sip, and glanced upwards thoughtfully. She took a long time to answer, seeming to be weighing something up in her head.

"Boring." She said finally, with a trace of guilt in her voice. "Really, really, boring!"

"Oh!" Zim replied, stunned. He hadn't expected that.

"It's just a rock...a totally deserted rock!" She continued complaining, on a roll. She was used to pretending that she was happy there, because that's where the Tallests had put her, and to question their judgement was unthinkable. This was the first time she had admitted this to anyone outside the Destroyer unit.

"There's nothing there but us, and nothing to do but train and wait. Every now and again they fly in things for us to hunt, but it's not as fun as it sounds!"

She lowered her voice and tilted her head closer to Zim, inviting him to do the same. She covered her mouth with one hand, as if sharing a secret, even though there was nobody else in the room. Zim leaned forwards, listening.

"Some of the older Destroyers say it's like a prison!" She whispered.

"Woah!" Zim raised an eyebrow (or the ridge where an eyebrow would have been) at this information. Mig sat back, relaxing a little, smiling and taking another sip from her glass.

"This is the most fun I've had since Devastis!" She said, smiling at him warmly. Zim's stomach did another little flip.

"Yeah it's...it's been fun." He replied, and he really meant it! It didn't take a genius to figure out why; this was the first Irken company he had had in six years. It was only natural that he would enjoy it. But...it felt like more than just that. He really _liked _her.

Zim could count on one hand the people he had met in his life he actually liked, but he felt increasingly affectionate towards Mig. When they had first met he had suspected that there was more to her character than met the eye, and he had not been wrong. In fact, Zim was learning that there were many sides indeed to this beautiful visitor. Good thing too, because when she was serious she really did look capable of murder! Even now, as the conversation had died out and she was left to her own thoughts, he could see that hard, vacant air of hers returning. Sipping her drink quietly, legs crossed and casually observing her surroundings, she looked anything but harmless, more like a cat resting silently before pouncing on a mouse. It seemed, however, that her mood could change at the slightest provocation. If he engaged her in conversation, or showed her something, her interest immediately became captivated by it. Then she would hang on his every word, listening with rapt attention. When he had gotten her talking about something she liked, she did so with the kind of fresh, breathless enthusiasm of a small child, or the terminally scatter-brained.

All in all, she gave the impression of someone who has ten different thoughts in her head at all times; a constantly altering terrain. Seeing her flit from one state to the other was truly mesmerising, like watching the mutating colours and shapes inside a lava lamp. He wondered how old she was? Probably still quite young.

Plus, how could he _not_ like someone who enjoyed random destruction so much? He realised that she reminded him a little of his old, shorter self.

Zim straightened up, draining his glass in one big gulp, as if it would help him work up the nerve for something. He looked at Mig meaningfully, a tiny amount of blush on his face.

"I suppose we should..." He trailed off, making a little hand gesture that was very descriptive on Irk.

"Oh!" Mig said, setting her glass down on the floor quickly. "Yeah...yeah, we should." She agreed.

For a moment her hard demeanour returned, she appeared to be trying to be professional about the matter. Then she averted her gaze, looking very embarrassed, and started to roll down one of her long black gloves. When she was finished she let it slip to the floor, without looking back up.

Zim drew closer to her, surprising her a little, tugging at her other glove.

"It'll be easier if I use both hands." He explained, in a voice that he hoped was soothing. Mig didn't say anything, just nodded nervously.

Soon both of them had taken off their gloves and sat facing each other, their knees touching. Zim took Mig's hands in his own, cradling them gently. With his thumbs he started to rub her palms softly, to break the skin over the openings. She made little sighs as he did this, closing her eyes, seeming to enjoy it.

Zim brought their hands up to shoulder level, pressing their palms together and lacing their fingers. They looked at each other intently, like they were praying, or about to dance.

"Aah!"

Zim gave an involuntary gasp as he felt the fluid within him shift, draining from his hands. Tightened muscles relaxed as he felt it rush out of him, somewhere near his middle he felt a weight lighten, the pressure on his groin muscles being relieved. He gave little groans of delight as the feeling spread from his hands, down his arms and to his pelvic area. It felt as if he was slipping into warm liquid.

Mig shut her eyes, making little, satisfied sounds as she felt the goo run into her body. It felt really good, like drinking a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day. As the minutes went on she felt it fill her, she winced slightly at the unfamiliar sensation, biting her lower lip.

As the last drops of goo left Zim's body he shut his eyes too and bowed his head forward, tightening his grip on Mig's hands. A familiar pulling of the muscles around his testes told him that he was almost finished. As the draining sensation reached his lower half he felt wonderfully light, as if his entire body was made of liquid. A tingling, cooling feeling ran through him, making him feel so relaxed he couldn't even lift his head. If he tried to speak at that moment, he probably wouldn't have been able to.

As he opened his eyes he felt hazy, like he was seeing the world through a pleasant dream. A small goofy smile spread across his face as he enjoyed the moment, his vision blurred and his eyes crossed. He collapsed a little, resting his head on Mig's shoulder, his face pressed against the skin of her neck.

As he held himself there, enjoying the exquisite feeling of being empty, he found himself breathing in her scent. Her skin felt soft and cool against his warm face, like marble. That odd longing feeling returned and he suddenly wished he could feel more of her, everywhere, underneath her skin. He looked up at her face and saw that her eyes were still closed, she was biting her lower lip slightly. For some reason this provoked a feeling within him. She looked so...so...

Zim suddenly drew himself up and kissed her on the mouth, letting his hands slide up her arms and circle her shoulders. Mig's eyes flew open in surprise as she felt his mouth envelop hers, his tongue probing into it, him holding her close. Zim's eyes, too, grew wide with shock. What, exactly, was he doing?

Kissing wasn't unknown to Irkens, but it wasn't as widely practised as it is on Earth, especially since Irkens have a way of reproducing without such contact. There were many Irkens who had never kissed. Zim didn't really know why he had felt the need to do such an unusual thing.

After a moment they both gave into it, Mig relaxing and falling a little into Zim's arms. Zim held her closer, running one hand down to her waist. As the kiss broke off they gazed at each other.

"W-what are you...?" Mig asked quietly.

"Um...I was just wondering. Ummm..." Zim started. What was he saying? The words came out on their own. "Have you ever mated...the 'other' way?"

Immediately Zim realised just how stupid that was. Mig looked at him, deeply confused. And why wouldn't she? So few Irkens had mated 'the other way', as he had put it, that many didn't even know _how _to. Zim was inwardly cursing himself when Mig broke eye contact, looking away and hanging her head slightly. She looked as if she were about to confess a deeply personal sin.

"I...I've never mated before. This is the first season I've seen..." She brought her gaze back to his blinking, uncomprehending face. "Ever."

Zim could barely contain his shock. Holy shit! That would mean that she was just over 30 years old at the most. He thought she was young, but he never would have believed that she was _that_ young! He suddenly felt very, very old. Hell, he was old enough to be her great grandfather!

He didn't have long to dwell on this, though. As he gazed at her, she suddenly looked very small and vulnerable, her eyes reflecting the empty innocence of a child. That hollow feeling of longing returned and compounded with this new image of her, making him feel like he was looking at her with new eyes. Zim felt the need to reach out to her, to envelop her body with his own.

He surrendered to this need and pulled her close to him, once again enjoying the feel of her skin on his, kissing her deeply. Mig submitted to his touch instantly, even as he gently pushed her down onto her back. She let herself be guided by the exploring hands of her older, experienced lover.

SSSSS

Dib was not happy. He had been mad before, infuriated even, at Zim's deception. He still had no idea what he had planned to do when he got a hold of the alien, but it probably would have resulted in Zim receiving an electric shock or three. Now, due to time and exhaustion, his rage had cooled down into a black, simmering mood.

Dib trudged homewards, feeling tired and hungry and sick all at the same time. All fucking night he'd been in that police station! Handcuffed by one wrist to a wooden bench in what he guessed was the 'waiting room', as various drunks came and sat next to him, reeking of vomit and whisky. The only company he had was a sad, haggered old prostitute handcuffed to the other end of the bench, who regarded him with silent disdain.

The officers who had arrested him (for what, exactly, he still didn't know) had punched out as soon as they were done securing him to the bench. They had left him without a word to sit in the busy station, that stank of dry, re-circulated air and bitter coffee. The harsh neon lights bore down from above, after a while it had given him a tension headache.

Dib had only been released when a female police officer had turned up for the morning desk shift, sipping her coffee and looking at him curiously.

"What's he in for?" She asked a colleague, gesturing towards Dib with one thumb.

"Not sure, isn't he professor Membrane's kid?"

The woman shrugged. "Should we charge him?"

"Nah. Let him go. Membrane mentioned he had a son who was nuts. Bigger fish to fry anyway. There's been some gas explosions, the whole of downtown is rioting." The second woman said, looking as if she really didn't give a shit about it.

Dib lifted his weary head sideways as he noticed he was passing Zim's house. Shit. There was no way he could confront him now. He didn't even know what he would say, and they had taken his taser-gun from him at the station. He did notice, though, that Zim's robot was standing in the small gap between Zim's house and the neighbouring one, gazing through a window to the inside. It seemed like a stupid place for a window, all you would be able to see was a brick wall!

As he walked closer Gir noticed him and smiled, waving him over. Dib went to him.

"What do you want, you little fucker?" Dib rarely swore, but he was in the mood for it today. Gir said noting, just continued looking to the inside of the house. Dib followed his gaze, mildly curious at what he was looking at.

SSSSS

It seemed strange to Zim that he had never seen a naked woman before. Then again, why would he have? There was no reason for an Irken to be naked, aside from cleaning themselves and, well..._this_. He sat back on his knees, taking in this new sight.

Mig lay on her back, with Zim sitting between her knees. Her skin was flawless and pale green all over. As she had let Zim undress her he felt just how soft it was, warming instantly on contact with his fingers. There was just a hint of womanly curves to her body. Her hips only slightly wider than his, her breasts small and undeveloped. She had tiny, dark green nipples that Zim found oddly curious, seeming as he didn't have any. As he ran his hands over them he felt her back arch, tiny little goosebumps shivering across her skin. But it was her eyes that were really doing it for him.

As she laid in this truly exposing position she looked up at him with soft, pleading eyes. She looked breathlessly innocent, as if she were silently asking him to be gentle with her, Zim felt that she might break under his touch.

On the outside, he looked perfectly calm, like he was casually observing a beautiful painting. But inside, he was in turmoil. A rush of new and frightening feelings ran through him, so fast he couldn't even name them. It felt as if he wanted to do two different, contradicting things at once. On the one hand he felt that she was the most delicate and precious thing in the universe. Whenever she looked at him he had felt a flip in his stomach, but the way she was looking at him now made him feel much more than that. He felt a kind of stirring in his chest, but at the same time it felt as if there was a swelling there; something heavy and alive, bursting to get out. He wanted to grab her and never let her go, take her far away and keep her in case harm should ever come her way. But on the other, he felt his body urging him to do just that. Every muscle, every nerve screamed out at him to crash into her, to break her and leave her so that she wouldn't be able to move for days!

He had never felt this way about another living creature before. He felt as if he was a smeet again, dreaming of blood and fire and planetary conquest. But that had been a massive concept; what he now knew to be the youthful delusions of grandeur. Taking a feeling as big and complicated as that and focusing it on a single person just seemed insane, like trying to cram all the knowledge in the universe into a single brain.

It didn't help that he was trying to figure out the mechanics of her body at the same time. He had a basic grasp of the concept; even a child could understand that if you had something of a certain shape, it had to fit into a place that had a corresponding one. But he had only a basic knowledge of how his own reproductive organs worked in this situation, he had no idea how hers did!

He could already feel his hardness pressing against the rough material of his pants. Even with all the emotions swirling within him, he could appreciate the irony of the situation. For him (or any male, really), the only way to rid himself of his goo without equipment or a partner was to masturbate. This was why he had always associated his erections with the unpleasant feeling of failure. The mating seasons he had spent alone, knowing that his DNA was literally being flushed away, had dented his pride and made him feel ashamed of himself. How strange that now it was the very thing that governed his actions. He didn't know quite what to do with it, but he could guess.

He brought his attention back to Mig, or more specifically, a certain part of her. Her position meant that her legs were open and he could see her genitalia. The skin surrounding it was paler and more soft than the rest of her, smooth and completely hairless. He tried to stop himself from staring at it (somehow he knew it would be rude) but he had to look.

He didn't quite get it at first, it seemed like she had nothing down there at all. For one awful moment, he thought that they wouldn't be able to mate; that this crazy, impulsive thing they had decided to do would amount to nothing. But then he noticed a small slit, not unlike the ones they both had on their hands, enveloped by little folds of skin, palest green and looking as if they had never been touched. Zim touched them, marvelling at the feel of virgin skin, as she exhaled softly, gasping at this new sensation.

She was warm there, almost hot to his touch, and moist. For some reason Zim felt a shiver of excitement run from the tip of his cock right down to the lowest of his groin muscles, making him even harder and more sensitive. He slipped a probing finger inside her, finding the feel of her curiously intriguing. She gave a sharp intake of breath as he did this, her muscles tightening and shuddering ever so slightly. As he felt the warm, wet folds of her insides close around his finger, tight muscles wrapping around him but feeling as soft as a feather touch, he felt like he was about to burst. His cock, already painfully hard and still trapped inside this clothes, could no longer be ignored. It pressed against the smooth flat skin of his stomach, begging to be released and feeling so hot that it could burn him.

He bent down to kiss her again, then started to undress.

SSSSS

Dib couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. His body, weakened by tiredness and hunger made him feel sick, but his brain was tired as well. All he could do was break the sight before him down into smaller, easier to comprehend parts.

First, there were two aliens. Zim, and a more unfamiliar one he recognised as 'Mig'. They were both on the sofa, Zim squatting on his knees and Mig laying down in front of him. Second, she was naked.

Dib would never have guessed she was a woman, but he knew from that strange device that she was. Her body looked like that of a pre-pubescent girl; featureless and totally hairless. Well, that much made sense, if Irkens didn't have hair on their heads why would they have it anywhere else?

At any other time he would have been interested in seeing a naked alien, simply because he had never seen one before. But for some reason his attention wasn't focused on her, it was focused on Zim, who was starting to take his clothes off.

Just as he had never imagined having to think about the mechanics of Irken sex, he had never imagined that he'd ever see Zim naked. Even in his long forgotten childhood fantasies, where he had Zim laid out on an operating table and was dissecting his insides, the thought had never crossed his mind. Did he want to see? It seemed he didn't have a choice in the matter, in the time it took Dib to think about it Zim was already down to his pants, pulling them down over his knees.

Huh...well he hadn't expected that!

He saw Zim's cock bob free of his clothing. It looked normal enough, except for the colour, of course. In fact, it looked exactly like a human cock, except that his balls were smooth and hairless. So much about Zim's body was weird; his green skin, his antennae, the fact that he couldn't touch water and had no pupils, he'd expected him to have something stranger between his legs than an ordinary penis. But there is was. Dib had seen it, and he couldn't unsee it.

SSSSS

Zim paused, kneeling forwards slightly. This was it, the crucial moment. They had kissed, they had felt the contours of each other's bodies, and now they were both naked. But all of that had been just teasing, leading up to this moment when they were about to do...what, exactly? Zim was suddenly very aware that he had never done this before.

Mig sat up onto her elbows, peering downwards. She looked at Zim's dick, obviously a little intimidated by the size of it, and back up to his face. She opened her mouth to say something, but Zim didn't give her the chance. He reached forward and kissed her, laying his body on top of hers and entering her in one quick, smooth motion.

"Aaaaaaaah"

Both of them gasped in unison. For a few minutes, Zim was too shocked to move, unable to think about anything other than the new sensation running through him. Sweet, holy Irk, it was wonderful, it was terrifying, it was all things at once, there were just no words to describe it!

He was joined to her, he could _feel _her from the inside, her warm, wet insides. He felt the muscles tighten around his cock, the softest of soft skin caressing the tip, it almost felt like it was being gently kissed. The heat from their groins spread all around his body, sending pleasurable little shivers up his back. He felt like he would melt in that moment, completely surrendering himself to the feeling, lost in a world of his own.

Mig looked like she felt the same, but she gave a small wince as she felt Zim's cock fill her, the entire length of it somehow buried in her body. This brought Zim's attention back to her.

"Does it hurt?" He asked.

"No" She breathed, her voice heavy with emotion, barely even a whisper.

Zim didn't think there was anything that could rival the feeling of him being inside her, but he was wrong. Governed by the influence of some primal instinct, he drew his hips backwards, almost taking his cock out of her, and then plunged it back in again right up to his balls.

"Aaah! HOLY FUCK!"

SSSSS

Dib was caught in full 'train wreck' affect. He knew he didn't want to see what he was seeing, but at the same time he knew that he couldn't look away.

Well, at least he was sure of one thing; Irken sex appeared to be the same as human sex. It was an answer to a question he wasn't sure he had asked. He watched Zim thrust himself into her, slowly at first but quickly speeding up, seeming to experiment with the depth and frequency. Both of them wore twin expressions of shock mixed with ecstasy, and just a hint of shy embarrassment. Dib wouldn't have known it, but this was the look exclusive to virgins at the moment of sexual discovery; the unsure movements, the exaggerated reactions, the look of being totally engrossed in this new and amazing activity, deaf and blind to the world around them. But to Dib,who had never so much as kissed or even held a girl's hand, they could have been the most experienced of alien porn stars. He found it mind-blowing, having sex demonstrated for him so graphically...and by _Zim! _What the fuck?

He couldn't hear anything, but it was obvious that they were making a lot of noise. Disturbingly, Dib found it all to easy to add his own soundtrack. Zim, in particular, was being very verbal, moaning and gasping what Dib guessed were Irken profanities. He had an intent but far-away look on his face, now that he had decided on a pace he fucked her hard and fast, drawing his dick right out of her before entering her again. The blush on Mig's face grew deeper, like she was overheating. She had barely moved at all so far, surrendering her body completely to Zim's manipulation, but now she joined in, running her hands along his upper thighs, helping him thrust his hips forward, signalling for him to go deeper, harder. Dib noticed this detail and knew he would remember it, but he didn't know why.

SSSSS

It was all Zim could do to try and keep himself from orgasm. He felt the heat in his groin rise until it felt that he could take no more, with every slick stroke of his cock bringing him closer to tipping over the edge. She was moaning and gasping for more, adding to the rich tapestry of sensations he was feeling right now. When she grabbed his ass and drew him into her so deep he couldn't go any further, it was only his will that was holding him back. Shit! He wasn't going to last much longer.

Mig screamed and for a moment he thought he had broken her after all, but then he felt it. The tight folds of her insides spasmed and tightened even more, holding his cock inside her and pressing hot, wet skin against the tip. It was more than Zim could take.

He gasped himself as he came, shooting the tiny amount of goo that had built up in his testicles into her. For some reason, this was the most satisfying feeling of all. He savoured it, holding his cock deep in her body, feeling it grow even wetter with his own fluid. Sheer ecstasy pulsed through his brain, ringing in his ears, reducing his body to jelly.

"Aaaaaaaahn..."

He gave one final gasp of exertion before his body collapsed, the warm waves of rest engulfing him.

SSSSS

The spell was finally broken, and Dib could look away. He stared, unseeing, sideways into the horizon. The pale morning light struggled to shine under dark swirling clouds, heavy and pregnant with rain.

"I think I need to go home now." He said, quietly, to no one in particular, and began to trudge away.

CHAPTER 6: END


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Hmmmmm...is it too obvious that I'm not a 'Twilight' fan? Nah...

**Chapter 7: Regression**

Inside the Membrane house Gaz sat at the kitchen table, tapping away at her hand-held game system. The buttons on it had been worn down over years of use to be as smooth as glass. Gaz didn't mind this, though. It meant that only she knew how to still play games on it. She wasn't alone; her friend sat with her, silently reading a book.

Since entering Hi Skool, Gaz had become surprisingly popular. Her 'I don't give a crap' attitude fit in well amongst the sullen teenagers, who projected their lack of interest in life by wearing dark clothes and skipping class to smoke cigarettes behind the building. The difference was, Gaz was the only one _not_ pretending to not give a shit.

Gaz's friend was a slim, pretty girl dressed all in black. Her white skin was decorated with pale pink make-up. Thin streaks of pink and blue ran through her black hair. As she occasionally turned a page with her black-nailed fingers, she sighed wistfully.

The book she was reading showed an impossibly beautiful young couple staring at each other under a picture of the moon. 'Moonlight' was written across the top in hilariously fake 'gothic' print. The book was, quite possibly, the most horribly written piece of angst-ridden pre-teen shlock ever created. But it was destined to go down in history as one of the most popular books of it's time for one reason: the main character, Edward Sullen.

The author of the book had had the incredible good fortune (it couldn't have been skill, judging by how poorly the book was put together) of creating a character that seemed to tap into every young girl's fantasy. Edward Sullen was a vampire, but all he ever seemed to do was stand around looking moody. He barely even spoke to the girl in the book, in fact he had spent the first three chapters avoiding her entirely. But the story centred around her falling desperately in love with him, even though he was blessed without the burden of a personality. To be fair, they did seem well suited; all she ever seemed to do was complain.

The fictional Image of Edward Sullen had proved to be the teenage girl's equivalent of catnip. Suddenly, every boy who was quiet or distant seemed deep and mysterious, and instantly more interesting. Some of the more cunning boys in Gaz's class had cottoned on to this, and had taken to standing around alone looking broody, ignoring the girls if they tried to talk to them.

It just so happened that this girl wasn't sitting in Gaz's kitchen by accident; she had an ulterior motive. When she heard the front door slam she gave a little start and snapped the book shut, arranging her face into a fake smile of surprise. Gaz, as ever, didn't move an inch.

Dib ambled slowly into the kitchen, disoriented and confused looking. He was still in a bad mood, and it looked like he was thinking about something unpleasant. On top of this, he looked like he'd been dragged backwards through a hedge; his hair was messy and his clothes were dirty and crumpled.

"No Skool today?" He asked, blandly, as he opened up the fridge to get a soda.

"Cancelled." Gaz replied, without looking away from the game screen. Dib, who had been staring impassively into space, looked at his sister.

"Why?"

"Half the building blew up."

"Fair enough."

The 'Game Over' text flashed across the screen. She finally turned and acknowledged her brother. "You look like shit." She said, uncaring.

"Thanks." He replied, too tired even for sarcasm, and turned to walk out of the room.

Gaz's friend, who had been watching Dib intently, followed him with her eyes. The fixed smile on her face didn't fade even as she heard him climb the stairs and go into his bedroom. Finally, she picked up the copy of 'Moonlight', gazing dreamily at the front cover, and let out a girlish sigh. Gaz popped another battery into her game console and continued playing.

SSSSS

Zim had no memory of falling asleep. At first he thought he had slept right through to night time, but then he realised that he was face-down on the sofa in his living room. In the way one can only do when waking from a deep sleep, he had completely forgotten where he was or how he'd gotten there. For a moment, he panicked as he realised that he was naked from the knees up, shoes still on, his pants pulled in an uncomfortable knot around his lower legs. He drew himself up with a start, swearing out loud as the unexpected morning light burned his eyes.

It was only when his vision returned and he saw Mig sleeping next to him did the events of the previous night come flooding back. He felt a rush of excitement as he remembered what he had done, what _they _had done. He realised that he had half-expected her to be gone when he woke up, that it had all been a vivid, beautiful dream.

But there she was, still wonderfully naked and dozing silently. She looked younger now than she had ever looked before, peaceful and far away in the soft rapture of sleep. He pulled her close to him, pressing their naked bodies together, resting his head on top of hers.

"Aw shit! What time is it?" Zim asked himself suddenly, leaping up from the sofa and pulling his pants back up. Mig propped herself up by one elbow, rubbing an eye lazily.

"I have to go back to Skool, I've already been gone too long!" Zim was muttering to himself as he collected his clothes, hastily pulling them on without bothering to straighten them.

"Where?" Mig asked, yawning.

Zim looked back at her, rubbing her face as she woke from the dreamy haze. "It's a...never mind, I'll explain later." He said, quietly.

He turned to the front door, but found himself quite unable to actually go through it. He stood with his one hand on the handle, pulling it slightly ajar.

"You'll still be here when I get back?" He asked, looking at her longingly.

"Yes" She replied. Zim went back to the door, then snapped his attention back to her.

"Don't go anywhere."

"I won't."

"And don't break anything."

"I won't."

"And don't blow anything up."

"I won't."

"Don't even move."

"I'll try."

Every time Zim looked back at her and added another request Mig laughed, amused at the spectacle. A sweetly innocent smile spread across her face. Zim felt a pang of sorrow at having to leave her like this.

"Don't leave." He said simply.

"What?"

"Don't leave." He said again, his voice small and very quiet. "Stay."

Mig blinked. "Zim, I-"

"Have to go." He cut her off, half exhilarated and half horrified at what he had just said, and slammed the door behind him.

SSSSS

Now that she was fully dressed Mig sat back on the sofa, muttering softly to herself.

"...Don't move, don't break anything, don't move, don't break anything..."

Mig was caught in an internal struggle all too familiar. On the one hand she wanted to honour the wishes of her new companion, but on the other she felt the hooks of curiosity burrow deeper into her. In her short life she hadn't seen much of the universe, and she had to fight the urge to explore this new and exiting environment.

"...Don't move, don't break anything, don't move...

From a very young age she had been cursed with an incredibly short attention span. It had been thought that she would grow up to be an idiot, but those who monitored her progress quickly became impressed with her rocketing height and her ability to wield weapons several times her size. This was why, when the time came for her to leave the nursery, she had found herself on Devastis. And not just on Devastis, either; in the special training group of the elitist of elite soldiers. It was an honour never before given to someone as young, and hardly ever to females. She became known as something of a prodigy.

"...Don't move, don't break, don't move..."

But as quickly as her star had risen, it had started to fade. Those who had looked at her with such admiration and promise now regarded her with concern and even alarm. Her problem (not a big one, she thought) was that she was a little...over enthusiastic.

She loved her training, she loved the business of being a soldier, a trained killer, a destroyer of worlds, what Irken didn't? She developed a particular fondness of explosions, loving to watch matter literally melt to dust before her eyes. So what if she was meant to be practising with swords when she used them? Cutting someone up a little was no comparison to seeing their limbs literally blast apart, leaving only a smouldering, bloody torso. So what if a few of her comrades got seriously hurt while practising with her, it was _combat_ training, wasn't it? In her opinion, the growing number of people who refused to go near her and ran when they saw her approach weren't fit to be soldiers anyway. What cowardice! Running from a girl!

Eventually names and labels were tossed around, whispered behind her back and noted grimly by her superiors. Nut job.' 'Loose cannon.' 'Dangerously insane.' What did that even mean? In the end, her protests amounted to nothing. She was packed off and sent to Loria, with all the rest of the misfits and near-criminals that were hard to control. At least there the soldiers were a little more robust, some of them even put up a decent fight!

So that had been the person she had became. A warrior of undeniable skill, locked up and deserted on a lonely, desolate rock, betrayed by those who had once invested her with such hope. At all times there was a low-level rage bubbling within her. She felt like a tiger trapped in a cage, with noting to do but wait and brood on greater things. She wondered if her new friend had any idea what that felt like?

"...Don't move, don't break, don't leave..."

She stopped muttering and allowed herself to be distracted by the last thing Zim had said. What an odd thing to say. He wasn't...he couldn't possibly be suggesting...could he? She got swept away in the moment, imagining that he had actually asked her to stay here forever. She wouldn't, she _couldn't! _There was just no way. But...

Never before had anyone treated her the way he had. She had accustomed herself to inspiring fear in others rather than loyalty; respect rather than affection. She thought that had been good enough. Friendship and the likes were a waste of time for a soldier, everybody knew that. But being here, in a place where she was free to move as she pleased, without orders and constant watchful eyes, was like a beautiful long-forgotten dream.

She felt a little flutter of emotion as she remembered Zim trying to think of things for them to do, things to say to her, new activities to fill the time. She smiled at his pathetic, bumbling charm. That was just it; he had done all these things _for _her. Not to provide her with a challenge or to test her abilities, but to amuse her for a while, to keep her next to him. And then there was...

A deep shiver ran through her as she remembered what had come next, she still hadn't gotten over the whole thing. She never would have imagined that pure contact with another could be so deep. That such a small, simple act could provoke so much; the feeling of minds being intertwines as well as bodies, of a world of secrets being created that only the two of them could access.

It was crazy, she knew, but the society which had produced them both suddenly felt very far away and small. A fictional place that ran like clockwork and had no notion of the vast, wider meaning of the nature of life itself. A bubble full of living creatures running on autopilot, little more than pitiful robots.

She gulped back the thought. Even here, if those words ever left her lips she would surely be executed for blasphemy! She drummed her fingers on the arm of the sofa, lost in thought. No, the wishes of the home planet were absolute, as they always had been and always would be. However...

Her smile broadened. The Tallest hadn't given her a time limit on her task. When they had set her out with sketchy directions to a planet on the very edge of the known universe they had given no indication of when they expected her back. She could have easily gotten lost on the way, or sucked through a wormhole and ended up anywhere! And even if they knew she was here, she could easily pretend that she had lost track of time. They would expect nothing less of her; Mig, the 'Nut job, the Dangerously insane.'

She gave a little hop of excitement as she imagined relaying this to Zim, suddenly wishing he would come back sooner.

Well, if she was going to stay for a while, she needed to get used to her new environment, she thought, rising to her feet. Why had she just been sitting there like a dolt anyway? She couldn't remember.

SSSSS

The place she found herself in was vast and confusing; an underground warren of steel corridors and darkness. She found it quite overwhelming, for she had never been inside a structure this big before, not even a spaceship. Mig cursed herself when she realised that she was lost. How embarrassing for a soldier of her training! Zim would have to come and find her, no doubt scolding her like a child for running off. Despite herself, she gave a little giggle at this thought.

The whirr of an automatic door indicated that she had entered yet another room, thankfully, this one was lit.

"Neat."

She gave a little impressed noise. This room was filled with endless boxes and strange devices, all crammed haphazardly into corners and on top of work benches. She went over to one of them, casually picking things up and examining them, setting them back in their place with care. Her interest immediately went to a glass container, that looked like it had recently been moved, rings of dust circling around it's base. She opened it up to see what it contained, turning the strange object around in her hand.

She guessed it was some kind of scientific instrument. Her limited understanding of such things couldn't even begin to imagine what it's use might be, though. It just looked like an ordinary glass ball, a clear rod inside supporting a tiny bead of pink-red liquid. An explosive, a grenade? She knew of no such explosive liquid that looked like this. A probe, maybe? Did the rod inside retract via a hidden catch? She started to press the ends of the ball together, squeezing hard against the smooth, unyielding glass.

"DON'T DO THAT!"

A shrill voice echoed all around her. She screamed and reeled around in shock, fighting the natural reflex to throw the thing in her hand at her attacker. Zim's little robot stood behind her, his hands outstretched in her direction.

"You scared me!" Mig spat furiously, annoyed at her own lack of awareness. She wasn't sure what this robot's purpose was, but she already didn't like it.

"What is this?" She demanded, brandishing the glass orb at Gir. "Speak, robot!"

Gir didn't move. "It's shiny." he said gravely.

Mig opened her mouth to hurl more abuse at the infuriating little creature, but then she shut it again. "Yes." She conceded. "Yes it is."

She went back to examining the orb, turning it around and around in her hand. Balancing it between her fingers.

"Dooooooont touch it..." Gir warned, even though a wide stupid smile was on his face.

"Why?" Mig asked, casually, her rage dissolved by curiosity.

"It's shiny."

"Yes. You've said." Her voice was edged with impatience. She continued to twirl the orb perilously around in her hands.

"_Put it back!" _Gir shrieked suddenly, seeming to realise the seriousness of the situation.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME YOU LITTLE-"

The orb fell to the floor and cracked.

For a moment there was silence, pierced only by Mig's ragged breathing and Gir's tiny whine of fear. Then there was a great surge of dry heat, enveloping them both in a storm cloud of dazzling pink light. It winked out of existence as quickly as it had came and left them both standing frozen as still as statues. Gir blinked stupidly into nothing. The shine had somehow gone from Mig's eyes, like a single naked flame snuffed out by the wind. Her antennae grew limp and her sides. She fell to the ground, as rigid and stiff as a board.

SSSSS

There was no sight in this swirling world of darkness, no awareness of a body independent. Only snatches of thought. Unformed words barely even a whisper, sounds so muffled and distanced they barely existed at all. The flash of touches revealing the presence of skin that could feel them, the hushed voices remembering ears that could hear.

Skin moulding onto skin, running in slick rivulets of sweat mingling together. The feeling of soft, probing fingers dancing, creating vast invisible patterns. Hot breath warming. Raising gasps and falling whimpers. The heady scent of activity, the dark disturbance of fevered movements. Friction.

Yes, the sounds came clearer now. Snatched breaths of desire and terror. Silent screams. Wetness and heat...so much heat.

Collapsing and falling, rising again even faster. Senses running into senses like liquid. Harder. A hurried shriek penetrating the darkness. Pain and restriction. Too much pain...

Taste it. Devour it. Feel it run over you, through you. Take the exquisite greed inside and lap it all up, every last drop. No...don't. It will burn you from the inside out.

Softness again now. Gentle caress...faster, but ever so softly. And then...

"DIB! ARE YOU GOING TO SLEEP ALL DAY?"

Gaz kicked her brother's bedroom door, rattling the wood on it's hinges.

"Nuh?" Dib ceased his movements, still enveloped in the insulation of sleep. "Ahhhhnnnn..." He groaned as a wicked headache of exhaustion pressed against his temples. He buried his face once again in the material of his bed covers and didn't move.

"Ros and I are going for pizza in an hour. You can get your own dinner!"

Dib didn't lift his head, just waved a dismissive hand at the closed door and waited for Gaz's footsteps disappear downstairs.

For a few minutes he lay motionless, face down on the bed, one arm hanging limp over the side. Still fully clothed, he spread himself out on top of the covers, his legs slightly bent, as if he had been rubbing himself against the mattress. Eventually, he lifted his head, feeling the dryness of his mouth. He blinked against his blurry vision. He must have fallen asleep before he could drink the soda he had gotten from the fridge. Sure enough, there it was, unopened on the bedside table.

He shifted his weight onto one knee, hoping to push himself forward. He gasped at the sudden pain he felt in his crotch. The movement had pressed his erection against the metal of his belt buckle. Great. Perfect. Waking up with a boner wasn't unusual for a teenage boy, even Dib, but that didn't make it any less annoying!

Dib pulled himself up into a sitting position, irritably cracking open the can of soda and taking a sip. How long had he been asleep? He had no clue. The sky was still light outside, the sun bright but sinking low and orange in the sky. In a few hours it would be dark. He thought he had been dreaming; a strange, disjointed dream about nothing in particular. The memory of it was already starting to fade.

He sat drinking in silence for a while, then got up to take a shower. God damn! He felt the rough denim of his pants bind against his cock, still painfully hard, hurting him. He slipped a hand down to his groin, attempting to re-arrange himself into a more comfortable position. It didn't work.

Taking care not to run into anyone, he crept across the hallway, grabbed a towel from the linen closet and headed for the bathroom. He peeled off his stinking clothes and left them in a pile wedged up against the door, turning the water on. He breathed a little sigh of relief as his dick relaxed a little, free from the confines of his clothes. It was still hard, but Dib expected it would go down in the shower. It usually did.

Taking off his glasses before they steamed up, he stepped into the warm stream, feeling the soft pressure of the water massage his tired shoulder muscles. He leaned his head back into it, enjoying the moment, feeling his body warm up and his hair grow wet. As he picked up a bottle of shampoo and started to soap his hair, his mind went back to the events of the previous day.

Urgh! Yes, that's right. How could he forget? The images of what he had witnessed were seared into his brain, he knew he would never get rid of them.

Disturbing though it was, Dib felt a sense of closure about the whole matter. That was it, it was over, Zim and that woman had managed to have sex and there was nothing he could do to about it. Somehow, he could sense that it was none of his business anyway; it didn't affect him after all, he was no part of it. The whole affair had been suspect from the start. Dib, usually so sure of himself, had wondered whether this was something he should be getting involved with. He felt as if he had been leading himself down a rocky path, walking blindly with unsure footsteps, and now he had fallen into a dark ravine and he couldn't get out. He had gone too far, he had seen things he should never have seen.

Above all, he knew he hated her; Mig, that woman. He hadn't liked the look of her from the start, that photo of hers with the cold, dead eyes and the little, cocksure smirk. What he hated the most though was her very presence. Yes, without her the whole thing would have blown over like it usually did. Like all the other strange things that had happened between him and Zim over the years, this would have just ran it's course and they would have returned to normal, just like Zim promised. But she threw everything off, and he resented her for it. She had changed the game, raising the stakes without understanding the rules. She was the rogue element, the wild card in the deck, he wished she would just disappear.

"Fuck. What?"

As he had been thinking Dib had continued washing his body, making soapy circles with his hands along his arms and upper body. As he reached his stomach he felt the sensitive tip of his cock brush against his forearm, rousing him from his thoughts. It was still as hard as it had been when he woke up, he wondered why? He turned his body into the stream of the water, feeling every hot droplet fall against the hard, sensitive skin, making him wince as he felt them trickle down it's length. With a hint of hesitation he continued to soap himself, letting the suds run down to the dusting of dark hair around his thighs.

In many ways, Dib was still very different from others his own age, and his attitude towards his body was no exception. He had gone through puberty like everyone else, feeling confused and slightly scared as he noticed himself grow and mature. He had looked upon the changes of his body with silent curiosity, exploring them privately as any young man would, experiencing sexual excitement for the first time as he lay alone at night. In that respect, he was nothing unusual.

But that was where the similarities between Dib and 'normality' ended. With his curiosity satisfied, he had somewhat lost the taste for experimenting with the limits of his sexuality. Meanwhile, his peers had become obsessed with it. Seemingly overnight Dib watched his classroom transform into a social wildlife experiment. Boys became more aggressive, vying to outrank their former friends with displays of manliness, while the girls preened and painted themselves with brightly coloured make up, huddling together in groups and chattering like birds. Dib knew that he was socially under-developed compared to the others, but it didn't bother him that much. After all, what was the alternative? Grooming himself obsessively and fumbling like an idiot to gain even the slightest chance of attention from people he really didn't know that well? No thanks!

The only other person spared this madness was Zim, who looked upon the desperate scene with smug superiority. He had called it 'a sad display of gawking monkeys'. Dib remembered this, because it was the first and only time he agreed with what Zim had said. Sort of.

"Hnah!"

Dib gasped through the swirling steam as he ran his soapy fingers along the length of his cock, from the base of his stomach right up to the tip. He was harder now than when he had started, his dick feeling heavy, reacting even to the heat as it ran in waves around his body from above. He brought his fingers back down to the base, touching himself with his fingertips, afraid that the pain would be unbearable if he did anything more. He slid his thumb under to the delicate skin connecting his balls to his cock and ran his hand upwards again, leaving little white trails of soap that bubbled and vanished under the stream of water.

He bit back a cry as he felt the pleasure shudder through him, weakening his knees and making him feel like he would faint with the humidity and steam. Suddenly the running of the shower seemed very loud, drowning out the little sighs that escaped his lips. He brought his fingers down again, gripping himself tighter as his cock became slick with water and soap. It curved closer to his body as he grabbed himself with his entire hand, massaging himself from tip to base in long, slow strokes.

Pleasure was screaming in his brain as his movements became faster and harder. With every stroke his dick ached like it could take no more, but shivered with need, demanding him to go faster and faster. He drew his head back and felt the water splash over his face and run down his bare chest, as if it would somehow calm him down.

Suddenly his mind jerked back to his dream; that odd half-formed memory he still couldn't decipher. Whatever it was, and whatever the reason he was thinking about it now, Dib felt the rest of his body join in on the action going on between his brain and his private parts. His skin prickled, tingling and somehow cold in the heat, anticipating the touch that never came, wishing that the circling steam could run over it as hands could. Dib parted his lips slightly, feeling the hot water trickle into his mouth, biting his lip against the moans caught in his throat. He brought the fingers of his other hand up and licked them, running the hot slippery tips down the soft skin of his neck. He imagined they were a tongue slowly, slowly licking the nape right up to his ear.

As his excitement built he felt as if he could stay silent no more. He exhaled sharply as he held his hand against the end of his cock, shaking with desire, holding himself of the brink. He was sure he had only been doing this for a few minutes, but already this was more intense than the fumbling bed-time ordeals that had become less and less frequent since his adolescence. His entire body stood naked and exposed and wanting, screaming out for stimuli with every pore, every nerve. He felt vulnerable, he felt reckless, he was ready, he felt weak, he felt strong. He knew that if somebody were to walk in and see what he was doing, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

Suddenly, a flash of embarrassment ran through him, a residue of realisation of what he was doing to himself. Wildly, he began scrubbing his lower back with his other hand, as if to convince himself that he was still only washing even as he held himself on the brink of orgasm. In a moment of shame he would not soon forget, he felt his asshole tighten as he inadvertently brushed his fingers against it. A hot spark of ecstasy ran from below right up to the end of his cock. It was more than he could take.

He bit back a scream as he came hard, his aching cock pulsing under his grip, shooting semen into the stream of water and seeing it disappear down the drain. He stood still for a moment, panting hard, leaning against the cold tiles for support, listening to the dripping of the water. As soon as his strength returned he hurriedly turned the taps off and grabbed the towel.

SSSSS

He made his way into the living room, using the towel to dry his hair as he walked. He stopped in his tracks as he noticed Gaz's friend sat on the sofa, still reading her book.

"Oh...hi. Ros, is it?"

The girl turned and noticed him, her eyes lighting up. "Yeah." She said. "You wanna sit here?" She asked, motioning to the empty seat beside her.

Dib hesitated. He wasn't naturally inclined to want company, but it would be nice to have a distraction right now. After all the mad things that had happened, a bit of normal, bland conversation sounded pretty good. But the girl looked away suddenly, trying to act as if she didn't care either way. Dib couldn't see the hopeful half-smile hidden on the other side of her face.

"Um, no thanks, I think I'll sit in the kitchen." He said finally.

He went and stood by the kitchen counter, looking for a cup to make himself some coffee. After a few seconds Ros came in to join him, standing by the counter, casually running her hand across the edge.

"The light is much better in here isn't it? You can see the sun go down." She gazed dreamily out of the window, looking at the blood-orange sun sinking below the rooftops, painting the sky in red and violet.

"I...guess so." Dib said, raising an eyebrow at her as she looked past him. He guessed that she was trying to draw his attention to the setting sun, but she was just coming off as some kind of new-age hippy, or the world's weirdest real estate agent. He continued to clatter around in the cutlery drawer as she went on.

"It'll be dark soon. Who knows what weird and dangerous creatures prowl through the night..." She sighed, a gleam of excitement in her eyes.

"The weirdest of them come from space." He grimaced, without looking at her. He expected her to be confused by this, but instead she rushed closer to him, clasping her hands together, her blue eyes shining with wonder.

"Yes! You're so right. Such beings are controlled by the stars and the nether worlds, we humans would never understand." She recited a passage from the book from memory, breathless enthusiasm in her voice. She held her face close to his, meeting his uncomprehending and slightly alarmed gaze without seeing it. Dib was starting to think that his sister had some really crazy friends!

"Riiiiight..." He backed away, not wanting to set her off again. "I'm sorry I, uh...I've had a rough night."

She straightened up at this, but she didn't break her intent gaze. "Oh?" She offered, turning her head in mock indifference. What the hell was up with this girl? She shot him a sly look, trying but failing to hide her interest. "We saw you come in this morning. It looked like you hadn't slept at all."

"No...well I was...erm..." His thoughts flashed to the alien ship crash, sitting in the police station, and once again to that painful, god-awful scene. "I can't tell you." He admitted quietly. This was exactly the wrong thing to say.

She drew close to him again, closing the gap between them, holding her face just inches away from his. "Why not?" She asked, her voice little more than a whisper. Dib gulped silently. "You wouldn't understand." Wrong again.

"Is it a secret?"

"No. I mean, yes. Kind of. I don't know."

"Are you afraid to tell me?"

"Yes."

"You can trust me."

"No I can't."

"Some humans can be trusted. Some of us won't betray you."

"What?"

She was on a roll now, only half hearing what Dib was saying, seeming to be encouraged by his reluctance. Dib had the sudden urge to run, anticipating that she was about to do something spontaneous. He was right. Without a word, she leaned forward, mashing their lips together in an awkward kiss, closing her eyes.

Dib stood frozen to the spot, straightening his back, trying desperately to hold himself away. Their bodies weren't touching, the only point of contact was the uncomfortable lock of their lips, pressed together in tongue-less, adolescent union.

Ros flinched. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. In the book, as soon as Edward and Bella had kissed he had melted into her touch, taking her into his arms and holding her tight, the dark mystery of him disappearing as she heard music in her head, just like in the movies. She released his mouth, glaring into his stupid, blinking face.

Immediately Dib felt bad, like he should apologise for something, even though he had no idea what. She stared at him like he had betrayed her, her face turning pink with embarrassment and anger, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words.

His silence made her snap. The disappointment and outrage swelling within her flared out in unarticulated fury. She brought her hand back and slapped him sharply on the cheek, making him twist sideways in shock. With that she reeled around and fled from the room, her hair whipping behind her as she went. She ran past Gaz as she appeared in the doorway. Gaz turned and saw her friend disappear upstairs, smiling the wicked smile that belonged only to those who love seeing people suffer. She re-arranged her expression as she turned to look accusingly at her brother.

"What did you do?"

Dib blinked, rubbing his face as the pink hand-print was already starting to form on his skin, the taste of the unwanted kiss turning sour on his lips.

"I have no fucking idea." he replied, honestly.

SSSSS

'beep...beep...beep...beep...beep'

The shrill sound cut through the silence, as regular and methodical as a metronome. The remote it was coming from lay, untouched, on the floor. It's owner crouched a few feet away from it, hidden by her cloaking device, trying to control her breathing. Mig held herself in a coil, ready to pounce but not daring to reach out and grab the remote.

Her surroundings were unfamiliar. She seemed to be in some kind of storage unit, although she had no idea how far up or far down she was. Some of the boxes bore the stamp of the Irken empire, that brought her some comfort at least.

She had no idea where she was of how she had got there. Most worrying of all, she had the odd sensation of her memories trying to re-arrange themselves in her head; as if they had been scrambled somehow and they were trying to line themselves up again. The last thing she remembered clearly was being on Loria, falling asleep and wishing she was somewhere else. Ha! Well, she had gotten her wish all right!

Never mind that now...what could possibly have happened? What were the explanations? She hadn't brought herself here, that was for damn sure. The Tallests? Was this a mission? No...that just didn't feel right. Destroyers didn't sneak around in basements; they were dropped into the frey right at the height of battle. Kidnappers? Hmmm...perhaps. It was hard to believe that anyone would come to Loria and abduct a Destroyer. That would be like breaking into a prison and making off with the biggest, baddest inmate. But she supposed there could be someone so crazy that they thought they could contain her, maybe use her for their own plans. They had a name for people like that in the Destroyer unit; Dead men walking.

After a few minutes of staying completely still, expecting someone to appear, Mig reached forward and snatched the remote, flicking it to silent. Whoever her captors were, they were doing a piss-poor job of restraining her; she was alone and didn't seem to be locked in the room. She set the remote to search for her ship signal, and had to choke back the shock when it actually came up.

Huh? What? That didn't make any sense. Why would someone kidnap her and leave her with the ship locater, fully free to go and find it? Meh...more fool them!

CHAPTER 7: END


End file.
